KATHMANDU, MARCH 20
The number of government employees submitting their property details within the stipulated time increased in the fiscal 2019-20 compared to the previous fiscal, said the National Vigilance Centre.
According to the annual report (2020-21) recently released by the anti-corruption watchdog under the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, as many as 650,129 employees (448,180 in the federal level, 6,747 in the provincial level and 195,202 in the local level) furnished their property details for the fiscal 2019-20 within the stipulated time. It constitutes 97.28 per cent of the employees. The NVC said 97.19 per cent of public post holders had abided by the law in the fiscal 2018-19.
Similarly, those failing to submit mandatory property details are 13,844 in the federal level, 263 in the provincial level and 4,064 in the local level for the fiscal 2019-20.
Civil servants should submit their property details through the Department of Civil Personnel Records.
Nepali Army personnel are required to furnish the details to Army Record Office, police personnel to Police Record Management Department, school teachers to School Teacher Record Office and other persons holding public office to the concerned agencies.
Despite gradual increase in the number of public post holders submitting their property details in a timely manner, some employees are still reluctant to fulfil the legal requirements for transparency.
The NVC said it had written to the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority, requesting the anti-graft body to initiate legal action against erring employees.
As per the Prevention of Corruption Act, 2002, any person who joins public office is required to submit the updated statement of property in his/her or his/her family members' name along with sources or evidence thereof to the body prescribed by the government within 60 days from the date of joining such office and thereafter within 60 days from the date of completion of each fiscal year.
If the person does not submit the statement of property details within the extended time frame, he/she will be liable to a fine of Rs 5,000 and the concerned body or official may launch investigation into the property in his/her and his/her family members' names.
The NVC has introduced online system to ascertain the submission of property details by public post holders in accordance with the existing law. With the help of online system, the anti-corruption watchdog can easily collect, store, retrieve and analyse a large volume of data related to property details of public post holders.
A version of this article appears in the print on March 21, 2022, of The Himalayan Times
