TEAM HERALD
PANJIM: In an attempt to bring transparency in the bureaucracy’s functioning and reduce corruption avenues, the office of the Goa Lokayukta has called upon all public functionaries to submit their assets and liabilities for the financial year 2014-15 by June 30. The post of Goa Lokayukta has been vacant since October 2013.
The Lokayukta is bound to take action as per the Goa Lokayukta Act, if public functionaries fail to file their returns within the specified time.
Mathew Samuels, Secretary, Goa Lokayukta said that public functionaries as defined in section 2 (q) of the Goa Lokayukta Act, 2011, are being directed to file their financial statement.
“Lokayukta is an institution and it does not matter whether the Lokayukta post is vacant to act as per the statutory provisions,” he said.
Chief Minister, Ministers, MLAs, president, vice president, chairman or vice chairman, secretary, managing director of a local authority, or government company established under a statute and owned by the Government of Goa, or institutions receiving grants from the State government have to submit their statements of assets and liabilities to the Lokayukta in the prescribed form.
As per the Act, if no such statement from public functionaries is received by the Lokayukta within the time specified, the Lokayukta shall make a report to that effect to the competent authority and send a copy of the report to the public functionary concerned. Within two months of such report, if the person still does not submit the statement, the Lokayukta can publish the names of such persons in newspapers and file a report with the Governor.
The post of Lokayukta is vacant since October 2013 following the resignation of Goa’s first Lokayukta Justice (retired) Dr B Sudershan Reddy.
