15 govt officials guilty of graft yet to be dismissed

CLEAR RULES, POOR IMPLEMENTATION

MUMBAI: Fifteen government servants held guilty of corruption by various courts across Maharashtra are yet to be dismissed from service, with some of them even enjoying their allowances, according to a recent anti-corruption bureau (ACB) analysis.

The ACB said it has informed the home department of this serious lapse and has given them the names of the 15 government servants. This newspaper is in possession of this list.

Sources said till last month, this figure was 24. “Some of them are out on bail, but there is one case in which the accused, lodged in Pune’s Yerawada prison, is still getting her allowances,” a source said.

The ACB statistics go on to show the departments that are yet to dismiss these employees – two each from the revenue/land records/registrations and health and electricity departments, and the rest from home, medical education and drugs, industry energy and labour, Mhada, social welfare, Nagarparishad, state transport and the public works departments. “According to the Maharashtra Civil Services (Discipline & Appeal) Rules, 1979, when an employee is trapped by the ACB, the authority concerned should immediately suspend him/her on getting a report from the ACB,” the source said.

Further, the records show 154 government servants facing cor ruption cases are yet to even be suspended. “This is like protect ing the corrupt. The tax-payers continue paying for their allow ances even after a court has con victed them in corruption cases The employee can go on appeal while still getting his remunera tion,” said another source from the bureau.