`Submit property returns or face action’: J&K government cracks whip against employees for failing to declare assets

Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir government has decided to act tough against those employees who fail to submit annual property returns.

Submitting property details in January every year is a mandatory exercise aimed at checking the amassing of disproportionate assets and the known source of income of employees.

The administration has asked its employees to submit online every year a declaration listing moveable assets, including electric and electronic household items, owned by them and their family members in cases where the value exceeds two months’ basic salary.

The declaration will cover “all the assets” owned by employees and their family members and lists “cash balance, saving bank deposits, shares, cash certificates, fixed deposits, debentures, security bonds, jewelry/ ornaments, and household items (electric and electronic items only)’’.

However, it has been found that some officials are either not submitting property details or not showing the exact value of their property.

“They have been told either submit property returns forthwith or face action as per the service rules. Every year, most of these officers are showing unwillingness in submitting details of property returns. The government is framing a list of these officials who have not submitted property details,” a senior official of the General Administration Department said.

“The property of these defaulters remains unchecked due to the absence of property returns,” the official said.

In the absence of annual property returns, a large number of employees are amassing wealth and possessing disproportionate assets which remain out of the glare of anti-graft bodies.

They are also required to indicate the reasons for the increase, if any, in the assets and source as per the Act. The Act and Rules provide for imposing a penalty for non-submission of the property returns.

The official said the government has switched to online mode to ensure that all the employees file their property statements regularly and on time.

“Earlier, they used to submit their declaration forms to their respective heads of departments against proper receipts. The new system will save the trouble of issuing a receipt to every employee. Also, officers at even senior levels had to be repeatedly reminded to file their annual statements earlier,” the official said.