AGARTALA / NEW DELHI, March 20 (TIWN Excusive): Tripura’s bureaucracy signaling massive irregularities as IAS officials IPR defaulter lists jumped from 12 (in 2015) to 74 in 2016. Corrupt & tainted IAS officials like Principal Secretary G.S.G.Ayyangar who was kicked out of Andhra Pradesh for involvement in Rs 8 crore streetlamp timer scam during his stint at MCH (Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad) and former Chief Secretary S.K.Panda leading Tripura IAS fraternity’s tainted elements for material benefits like influencing Education Dept for buying his private book ‘One plus one equals to eleven’ by using central RMSA funds in 2014. So it is no surprise that S.K.Panda has chosen not to declare mandatory ‘immovable property disclosure (IPR)’ for the year 2016. Even in 2015, S.K.Panda stayed in number 2 in IPR defaulters list. Apart from S.K.Panda,GSG Ayyangar notable defaulter names are Chief Minister’s right hand man K.Rajeshwara Rao, former Gomati DM Sonal Goel.

MHA (Ministry of Home Affairs) released latest data shows that 74 Tripura cadre IAS officers didn’t file IPR (immovable property disclosure) in 2016 (in 2015 defaulter number was only 12) in other words hiding their property and asset details.

As per All-India Service (Conduct) rules, 1968, require officers to disclose these details when they join service and submit an annual property statement—listing properties and shares. Officers who do not submit property returns yearly in time will be “denied vigilance clearance” and will not be considered for promotion and empanelment (put on a short-list) for senior posts in Government of India, said a June 2012 home-ministry circular.

Dr. S.K.Panda is one of the rarest IAS official who can stoop down to any level for material benifits, - for example, after retiring as Union Textiles Secretary, Chief Secretary kind of coveted positions, then finally begged to CM Manik Sarkar to offer him a much lower ranking post of ‘Vice Chairman of Tripura Skill Development Mission’ so that Panda can continue his own mission of importing more Oriya people into Tripura Govt jobs, also providing blanket cover to all kind of irregularities commited during his tenure as Chief Secretary in Manik Sarkar’s Government.

Modi Govt initiated ‘National Skill Development Mission’ meant to impart technical to hands-on trainings to youths and unemployed so that country’s poverty index improves.

Rather than hiring a Technocrat or even an IAS officer with technical background, Manik Sarkar’s CPI-M Govt picked the most unfit person to  lead Skill Development Mission.

Property declarations bring transparency, improves public confidence in the administration and ensures integrity of subordinates, said many officers.

An officer who does not declare assets is in no position to ask subordinates to do so, out of fear that their own illegal assets will be exposed, said 1981-batch Karnataka cadre IAS officer M N Vijaykumar, who retired in April 2015.

Tripura's top IAS defaulters list headed by R.K.Mathur, followed by S.K.Panda.and 10 other officers as listed below.

The home ministry can order departmental inquiries against defaulters or those who file wrong information, but not many such cases have been launched, said former Maharashtra Director General of Police Rahul Gopal.

MHA (Ministry of Home Affairs IPR defaulters List can be found in this link :

http://ipr.ias.nic.in/defaulteripr.asp

74 IAS defaulters of Tripura Cadre in 2016. TIWN 

 “Declaration of assets to the public is a way of telling the citizens that you have kept faith in me by permitting me to handle crores of rupees of public money for public use, and I have not exploited your trust,” said Vijaykumar.

Service rules require officers to file annual property returns from their date of appointment. 

Following the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act 2013 which provides for the establishment of a body of Lokpal for the Union and Lokayukta for states to inquire into allegations of corruption against public functionaries, officers must now reveal property details of their spouses and children as well.

Tripura’s each of 74 IAS defaulters knew very well the importance of filing IPR (immovable property record) by 31st January, 2017. 

Filing IPR is not voluntary, it’s a rule as per all-India Service (Conduct) rules, 1968, require officers to disclose these details when they join service and submit an annual property statement.

Not filing IPR or avoiding filing for years is a direct sign that those IPS officials intend to hide their wealth and assets, in other words a sign of dishonesty and brewing corruption.

Tripura’s ‘CLEAN” Chief Minister always very fond of ‘CLEAN” officials, so it’s no surprise that Manik Sarkar picked S.K.Panda to lead  National Skill  Development  Mission as Vice-Chairman, which is Tripura CM’s gift by  accommodating a retired  tainted IAS official to chew Tripura taxpayers money  for many more years.

Why Tripura’s CPI-M Govt cannot find better professionals to lead various Central Missions rather hiring old age retired IAS officials like  Panda, Mathur  ?  Other than hefty salary and fat perks benefitting these career sharks, what else Tripura is getting in return ? 

Panda used his influence to force all schools to buy his own book 1+1+11 by misusing Central RMSA funds so that Panda and his publisher friend Debananda Dam of Gnan Bichitra gets benifitted.

Hyd Timer scandal in Details in Times of India news :

timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/IAS-officer-repatriated-for-timers-scandal/articleshow/172601.cms 

HYDERABAD: The government has repatriated the services of GSG Ayyangar, IAS, who is allegedly involved in the timers scandal, which rocked the municipal administration department. 
Ayyangar, who is from Manipur-Tripura cadre is on inter-cadre deputation to the state and presently working as director, personnel and administration, Singareni Collieries Company Limited. 
Ayyangar was in the Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad and was reportedly responsible for purchasing the timers used for street lights at an exhobribitant price compared to market rates. 

Times of India news on Timer Scandal :

timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/Timer-scandal-Probe-nails-4-IAS-officers/articleshow/189574.cms

Timer scandal: Probe nails 4 IAS officers

HYDERABAD: The Vigilance & Enforcement V&E) probe into the timer scandal has nailed four IAS officers — G S G Ayyangar, P Sisodia, Lingaraju Panigrahi and P K Mohanty — and three engineers. 

The probe was initiated after the government ordered an inquiry into the purchase of 7,002 timer devices at an exorbitant price of Rs 8.12 crore by the Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad.

The V&E has in its report, submitted to the government on Monday, recommended booking criminal cases against Ayyangar recently repatriated to his parent Tripura cadre) and Sisodia (currently Nalgonda collector) under the Prevention of Corruption Act. It has left it to the government to initiate suitable action against Panigrahi now commissioner, small savings) and Mohanty (principal secretary to CM). 

Both Ayyangar and Sisodia worked as additional commissioners, Mohanty was the commissioner and special officer of MCH, while Panigrahi was secretary in the municipal administration department when the scam took place (1999- 2002). 

It was found that both Ayyangar and Sisodia favoured three companies — S R Communications, Siri Communications and Krishna Engineering Works — and placed orders worth Rs 8 crore. All the three companies belonged to C V N Rao and his family and only one person laisioned with the MCH. 

Ayyangar had not brought on record the offer of another firm which promised to supply the devices at a cheaper rate. Sisodia, who replaced Ayyangar, also was accused of not considering a proposal of the competitor. He placed orders worth Rs 4 crore. The two officers changed the notings in the file to eliminate the competing firm. 

The Hindu news on GSG Ayyangar scams

www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-andhrapradesh/names-of-10-ias-officers-disclosed/article1226842.ece

Names of 10 IAS officers disclosed

Hyderabad: The State government on Tuesday disclosed names of ten officers from the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) against whom Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) recommended action.

N.V. Ramana of the High Court wanted the government to file an affidavit to the effect that there were no more such cases and adjourned the matter.

The judge was dealing with a writ petition filed by Shafiquzzaman, also an IAS officer.

The petitioner had earlier approached the department concerned under the Right to Information Act seeking the names of officers against whom the ACB had launched proceeding and how the government had dropped all the action.

Information rejected

When the information was rejected, the petitioner filed an appeal before the Information Commission.

The government had said that it would disclose the information but it was not done.

The present writ petition was filed questioning the non-disclosure of the information.

On an earlier occasion, the government had disclosed the list of six officers.

The officers whose names were disclosed on Tuesday are as follows: Vinod Kumar G. Agarwal, G. Narendranath, S. Bhale Rao, R.S. Goel, Priyadarshi Dash, B. Narasiah, B. Krupanandam, D. Varaprasad, D.R. Garg, and G.S.G. Ayyangar.

In other words, Chief Minister Manik Sarkar's top priority is to hire tainted officials to run key Govt Depts in Tripura.