AP sits on ACB cases against staff

According to the rules, departments should issue orders for prosecution within 45 days from the date of receipt of advice from the Vigilance Commission on the final report of ACB. However, 133 reports of ACB are pending with the government for appropriate orders after inquiries by the commissioner of inquiries (COI) and Tribunal for Disciplinary Proceedings (TDP) and departments.

Recently, AP Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu had said that he wouldn’t spare anyone found indulging in corruption and had warned employees of immediate suspension and no postings.

Meanwhile, delay in issue of government orders on ACB enquires is delaying action against corrupt employees. According to the government, there are instructions for completion of departmental inquiries within three to six months and the Secretariat departments are supposed to review the status of pending departmental enquiries regularly. However departmental enquiries are pending for years together. Inquiry officers also have not been appointed for years. There are 1,061 departmental inquiries from ACB reports that are pending since 1987.

A majority of the departmental inquiries are from six departments: Revenue, Medical & Health, Municipal Administration, Transport and Roads & Buildings, Home and Panchayat Raj. Fifteen ACB cases from 2014 and 69 ACB cases in 2015 till October 25, are awaiting sanction of orders from the state government. Also, 18 convicted cases are waiting for the state government’s orders. In 2014, ACB had registered 249 cases and among them 60.46 per cent convictions were secured in special courts. In 2015, 196 cases were registered by ACB and the percentage of convictions secured in ACB special courts was 72.09. In 2014, 20 officers and in 2015, 19 officers were dismissed from service.