Semi-government, civic body staffers told to declare assets

Days after winning the trust vote, which drew flak from all quarters, the Devendra Fadnavis government on Friday moved towards strengthening its grip over state administration in order to make up for its lost image.
In a major decision, Fadnavis made it mandatory for the employees of semi-government and municipal corporations and councils to declare their assets and liabilities annually. The move aims at bringing transparency in the entire administration, one of the promises made by BJP during electoral campaigns.

"The rules should be the same for all employees of semi-government, panchayati raj institutions, municipal councils and corporations, public undertakings and state government boards and corporations," a press release from the chief minister's office read.

While RTI activists hail the decision, "affected" employees are worried a lot. "This has also come as a shock for government employees who have been amassing wealth beyond their means," said an employee of BMC. The move is also being considered as the state's "control" over civic bodies and other autonomous institutions which have enormous budgets and perceived as centres of corruption.

A couple of months back, the central government had notified rules under the Lokpal Act making it mandatory for all its employees to file declarations of their assets and liabilities and those of their spouses and dependent children.