'Fight' going on between Local Self Government and Revenue Department to come out on top in corruption

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Local Self-Government Department and the Revenue Department, two departments on which the public relies the most, seem to be competing against each other for the top rank in corruption. If the Revenue Department was ahead in corruption three years ago, the scores were level between both departments in this respect in 2022. Last year, the Local Government Department was in the first place in corruption. Out of 427 cases registered by the Vigilance in 65 departments, 95 are in the Local Self Government department. The Revenue Department has 76 cases.

Efforts to strengthen internal vigilance to track down corrupt officials have not been successful. A few months ago, 5 people, including the Assistant Executive Engineer, were suspended during the inspection conducted in the Local Government Department. Bribe takers are getting caught frequently during Vigilance inspections carried out in the Revenue Department, which has more than 18,000 employees. An e-literacy scheme on revenue matters is being implemented to ensure that people do not fall into the trap of employees. The announcement that lightning inspections will be carried out in all village offices every three months has also gone in vain.

In the Local Self Government Department, the corrupt officials fill their pockets by giving permission to illegal buildings, not issuing building numbers, and occupancy certificates and not making timely decisions on applications. Internal Vigilance had found that the officials were paving the way for bribery by causing delays in the ILGMS software used to manage files in panchayats. Rs 1.05 crore was seized from Palakkayam Village Field Assistant Suresh Kumar in Palakkad. In northern districts, revenue officials are collecting bribes ranging from Rs 2000 to Rs 3000 as if they are collecting fees.

Cases

Local Self Government........................95

Revenue..........................76

Cooperation...................37

Home.....................22

PWD...................19

Health...................19

MVD...................16
(Figures from last two and a half years)

Most of the accused are in Local Self Government Department

Local............................216

Cooperation...................165

Revenue..........................160

PWD........................56

Home........................47

MVD........................39

Forest...................................33

Education...................31

Health........................28

Supplyco......................20

Registration...................17

(Figures from last 5 years)