Andhra Pradesh ACB colours corrupt babus
Agency on overdrive to prevent bribe-taking.
Hyderabad: The AP Chief Minister's Office has directed the Anti-Corruption Bureau to keep an eye out for corrupt government officials, especially in departments dealing with investments in the new capital.
Apart from the complaints received by ACB, intelligence teams will keep a vigil on officials in departments where there are more interactions with the public and investors.
The ACB's new strategy is to group government officers into red for most corrupt, yellow for corrupt and green for honest. There are definite orders that government officers indulging in corrupt practices must be brought to book along with their aides.
A study conducted by the Centre for Media Studies in 2017 revealed that AP was the second-most corrupt state among the 20 states surveyed. In AP, 38 per cent of people were of the view that corruption has increased and 58 per cent said it has remained the same.
As the new capital is being designed, it has attracted national and international investors. The government wants to attract good investors and doesn't want any charges of corruption to drive them away and tarnish the state's image.
The ACB is thus keeping tabs on top ranking officials who harass employees, demand bribes for project execution and stall promotions, and also amass ill-gotten wealth and property.
AP ACB chief R.P. Thakur said, "When complaints are received, we will scrutinise the reputation of the accused. Intelligence teams will check under which category the officer falls, red, green or yellow, and accordingly the case will be pursued. Targets have been set on officials with a tainted image.”
During 2017, the ACB laid traps and arrested officials accepting a total bribe amount of Rs 57.77 lakh and registered 15 criminal misconduct cases.
The bureau has secured conviction in 64.61 per cent of disproportionate assets cases and 62.90 per cent of cases were officials were trapped accepting bribes, which is more than in 2016. Also, additional special ACB courts have been set up for speedy disposal of cases.