Revenue, Registration and EB most corrupt, say DVAC data
CS KOTTESWARAN
Revenue, Registration and Electricity Board are the most corrupt government departments according to the conviction data over the past year that the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption wing has reported to the Administrative Reforms (ADR) Department.
The agency managed to obtain 41 convictions under Prevention of Corruption Act during 2020-21, of which nine cases were related to Revenue Department while the Registration Department and TNEB had seven convictions each.
According to officials, the general trend was to get 40 to 60 convictions, among which Revenue, Registration, Rural Development and TNEB have the most number of convictions.
According to DVAC, Coimbatore and Kancheepuram districts record more graft cases since 2018, with 52 cases of traps and complaints were generated from Coimbatore and 31 cases from Kancheepuram, leading to the suspension of officials.
The ADR Department has been regularly organising inspections, training and classes for government departments on transparency, vigilance and Right to Information Act, but the end result was not encouraging, said an official. “Sudden inspections and training classes by the Administrative Reforms Department have failed to improve the prospects of these government departments in Chennai and Kancheepuram districts,” said an official.
According to secretariat sources, Revenue and Registration Departments also topped the list of petitions received at the Chief Minister Special Grievance Cell at the Secretariat, said another official, noting that more than 20 per cent of the petitions handled by the cell were related to these departments. Job requirement tops the list of pleas, followed by the issue of caste certificates and land pattas, the official added.
Interestingly, these departments regularly feature in the annual Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report for poor financial and administrative management irrespective of whether it is DMK or AIADMK government, the official noted.