Staff to declare assets after new rules out: Centre
The public servants were also directed to declare their annual return of assets and liabilities as on March 31, 2015.
New Delhi: While the common man is facing a barrage of questions from banks for depositing one’s own money in old notes, courtesy the Reserve Bank of India coming out with new directives almost on a daily basis, the Central government employees, who had a December-31 deadline to declare their assets and liabilities under the Lokpal Act, have now been exempted from making the disclosure, as the government is finalising a fresh set of rules.
Without specifying any date, an order from the department of personnel and training (DoPT) has said that rules will be notified in due course to prescribe the form, manner and timelines for filing declaration of assets and liabilities under the revised provision of the Lokpal Act.
In July, the Central government employees were asked to declare their assets and liabilities by December 31 under section 44 of the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act. Besides this, the public servants were also directed to declare their annual return of assets and liabilities as on March 31, 2015 on or before December 31.
Now, in the office memorandum, the Centre has clearly stated that there is no requirement for filing declaration of assets and liabilities by public servants as of now. “There is no requirement for filing declaration of assets and liabilities by public servants now. The government is in the process of finalising a fresh set of rules,” the office memorandum added.
In this regard, it is stated that with the passing of the Lokpal and Lokayuktas (Amendment) Act, 2016, the Public Servants (Furnishing of Information and Annual Plan of Assets and Liabilities and the Limits for Exemption of Assets in Filing Returns) Rules, 2014, and all the amendments made thereto become redundant,” the Centre said.