File property returns after office hours,on holidays: Government to babus

Officers should file details of their assets and liabilities under the new Lokpal Act after office hours and on holidays, the government has said as the deadline for submitting the declarations by them ends on Thursday.
Many officers have also complained of slow speed of an online system meant for filing these declarations.

"Officers are also advised to use Google Chrome browser to access the system as it runs better in this browser," the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) said in an order. Several telephonic messages have been received regarding slow speed of the system making it difficult for officers in filing the return, it said. "As the system is accessed by thousands of officers at the same time during office hours, it makes the system slow," the order said.

The DoPT has taken up the issue of slow speed of system with National Informatics Centre (NIC) authorities for upgradation of the server. "At the same time, it is also informed that as it is online system, officers may try filing their return after office hours and on holidays when the system is less congested," it said. An online system has been hosted at www.cscms.nic.in for filing the assets declarations by Central Secretariat Service (CSS) officers.

Similarly, an online system PRISM (Property Related Information System) has also been developed by NIC for IAS officers, the DoPT has earlier said. The first return under the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act as on August 1, 2014 should be filed on or before April 30.

Government employees have to also file next annual return under the Act for the year ending March 31, 2015, on or before July 31, this year. The declarations under the Lokpal Act are in addition to the Immovable Property Returns (IPRs) filed by them under existing services rules.

The DoPT had last year notified the Public Servants (Furnishing of Information and Annual Return of Assets and Liabilities and the Limits for Exemption of Assets in Filing Returns) Amendment Rules, 2014. As per the rules, every public servant shall file the returns of his assets and liabilities, including that of his spouse and dependent family members, as on March 31, every year on or before July 31 of that year.

For 2014, the last date for filing these returns was September 15 last, which was later extended to December-end and now till April 30, 2015. All Group A, B, and C employees are supposed to file a declaration under the new rules.