Thaindian News

Patna, Jan 4 (IANS) After Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his cabinet ministers made public their assets last week, Bihar government school teachers also will have to submit their details by the end of this month. It is seen as an initiative of Nitish Kumar, who declared a war against corruption after becoming the chief minister for the second consecutive term in November last year.

“All school teachers have to submit details of their assets to the human resource development (HRD) department,” an official told IANS here.

The department has set up a special cell for this purpose. “All teachers and officials, except grade four employees, have been asked to submit details of their assets,” HRD Principal Secretary Anjani Kumar Singh said Tuesday.

According to official sources, nearly three lakh government school teachers, 2,000 grade three officials and 1,500 education officers would have to declare their assets.

From next year, all school teachers will have to submit details of their assets by Dec 31.

The chief minister and his cabinet colleagues declared their assets Friday. The details are now posted on the state government’s official website.

Soon after assuming office following a historic poll verdict last year, Nitish Kumar announced that corruption will not be tolerated in the state. In a bid to send a strong message, he asked cabinet colleagues to make their assets public.

He also directed the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers of the state to declare their assets and those of their kin by Jan 31.

Bihar is also working to confiscate the properties of corrupt officials and turn these into primary schools.

Last December, a special court ordered confiscation of property of former motor vehicles inspector Raghuvansh Kunwar. The state government has directed the officials concerned to open a school in Kunwar’s house at Chaira village in Samastipur district.

Kunwar was allegedly caught accepting a bribe of Rs.50,000 when he was the motor vehicles inspector of Aurangabad district Sep 24, 2008.

The state government last year put in place the Special Court Act that will enable the government to confiscate the properties of corrupt officials.

Six special courts, two each in Patna, Bhagalpur and Muzaffarpur, were constituted by the state government with the permission of the Patna High Court for speedy trial of cases involving a total sum of over Rs.25 crore.