Bihar to seize properties of corrupt officials
By IANSFriday, July 9, 2010
PATNA - Bihar will confiscate the properties of 10 corrupt public servants, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said here Friday, reiterating his commitment to check corruption in the state.
“Finally, a petition has been filed in 10 cases to confiscate the properties of corrupt public servants,” Nitish Kumar said at a function here.
He said the government was committed to check and control corruption and the special courts were set up to hear such cases under the Bihar Special Courts Act.
The act, passed early this year by the cabinet, enhances the powers of the state government in dealing with corruption cases involving public servants on a speedy and effective basis.
It enables the state to confiscate the assets of corrupt government officials. The act defined bureaucrats, politicians and others who draw salary from the state exchequer as public servants.
Nitish Kumar has admitted time and again that rampant corruption had hit the implementation of development projects and welfare schemes for poorest of the poor in the state.
The state vigilance department has arrested over 350 government officials, including 50 gazetted employees, on bribery charges in the last four years as part of its anti-corruption drive.
