Patna: Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who
has brought about a dramatic transformation in Bihar after he
took over the reins, has vowed his fight against corruption
will go on.
Claiming credit for introducing a slew of path-breaking
anti-corruption measures, he wrote in his blog recently, ``It
is a promise I fulfilled and my fight against corruption will
go on.``
Resuming his blog writing on September 13 after some
gap, Kumar referred to the setting up of a primary school in
the house of a senior government official facing a
disproportionate assets case.
He said he was happy at having demonstrated something
he had been rather passionate about.
"We have opened a primary school. Last Thursday, we
shifted a primary school for underprivileged children into
this house in Patna, seized under the Bihar Special Courts Act
which our government had enacted last year," he wrote in his
blog.
The building, confiscated by the Patna district
administration following a directive from a special court
trying corruption cases, was handed over to Human Resources
Department which subsequently converted it into a primary
school in no time.
The Chief Minister said the Act empowers the competent
authority to confiscate the movable and immovable property of
a public servant even during the trial and the government has
set up six special courts for speedy trials in corruption
cases.
"Such was a moment I had been patiently waiting for
all these months to resume my blog writing. When it finally
happened I decided to share my thoughts with you."
``The opening of a school in this building is no
ordinary event, to say the least In fact, this has happened
for the very first time in the country. It embodies our
government’s resolve to address corruption, even as it is being touted as a practicable measure to deal with incidences
of corruption," he claimed.
The basic objective of the state`s anti-graft
legislation is to instill a sense of fear in the minds of
corrupt public servants, he said.
``When they see that their property earned through
corrupt practices is ultimately seized by the government, they
will realise the futility of amassing wealth,`` he said.
Before this Act came into force, corruption cases
against public servants used to drag on for years, the chief
minister recalled.
In fact, the accused used to hire the best of lawyers
to fight their cases while enjoying the fruits of ill-gotten
money, he noted.
``There was no law for confiscation of their property
during trial,`` he said.
The bid to confiscate the property of the corrupt
public servants had started soon after the setting up of the
fast-track courts but it got delayed because of the legal
processes involved, Kumar wrote.
In the coming months, many more buildings are likely
to be seized and turned into schools, night shelters or any
centre related to public utility across Bihar, he cautioned.
He prided himself on taking many landmark initiatives
to minimize red-tapism and check corruption at all levels.
``Firstly, I decided to put the details of my assets as
well as those of the members of the council of ministers on
the official website of the state government,`` he said.
This was followed by the decision of the government to
make it mandatory for all government employees, up to Group
III staff, to declare their assets on the official websites.
From the Chief Secretary to all the Group III
employees, everybody subsequently posted the details of their
property on the government websites.
``I also decided to get the Local Area Development
Fund of legislators abolished because it had come under the
cloud.....`` he said.
Kumar has also decided to embark on `sevayatras` from
next November to set up camps at district headquartes for two
to three days to create awareness among people about the Right
to Service Act to ensure corruption-free delivery of public
utility services.
PTI
