VIJAYAWADA: Statistics obtained from the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), responsible for controlling corruption and keeping a watch on the corrupt government officials across different State government departments, presented a grim picture.
The Revenue department was found to have clocked the maximum number of corruption cases followed by the police department and the Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MAUD).
More than 35 per cent of the cases reported (on an average of four years’ statistics) with charges of corruption and disproportionate assets are against the officials working in the Revenue department following the police department with 15 per cent and MAUD with 12 per cent.
According to the data, ACB officials registered a total number of 100 cases—77 trap cases, 19 disproportionate assets cases and four criminal misconduct cases—against officers working in various departments across the state from this year.
Of the total, 35 cases (both trap and disproportionate assets) were registered against the revenue department officials, which explains the grave situation prevailing in the department.
Similarly, out of a total of 153 cases registered in 2018, 59 cases were against the Revenue department officials and 17 against Panchayat Raj and Rural development and nine cases charging police officials for accepting bribe for official favours.
Of the total 199 cases registered in 2017, 52 cases were against Revenue department officials for demanding bribe from the public and 10 cases pertaining to amassing disproportionate assets.
As many as 62 cases were booked against officials of Health and Medical, Energy, Panchayat Raj, Rural development and MAUD officials.
The corruption in the department was so rampant in 2016 when 62 cases were filed against revenue officials.
The ACB officials had raided houses of 17 revenue officials and unearthed crores of rupees. Interestingly, Visakhapatnam district topped with 82 ACB cases followed by Kurnool district with 61 and Krishna district with 51 cases.
The data also shows a rise in the number of trap cases registered by the ACB but the conviction rate has remained poor over the years.
While 54 cases have been disposed in 2019 till date, 31 were convicted and 23 acquitted with a 57.4 per cent conviction rate.
Similarly, 51.25 per cent of conviction rate was reported in 2018, 51.1 per cent in 2017 and 62.85 per cent in 2016.
When TNIE contacted ACB director general (DG- ACB) Kumar Viswajeet, he claimed that incidents of corruption in the revenue department have observed a downfall in the past four months and explained that ACB was taking all possible measures in curbing corruption in the government offices.
“We have to extend gratitude to ‘Spandana’, where most of the public grievances related to land disputes are being addressed transparently. We also request the public to become whistleblowers and join us in curbing the corruption in the state,” he said, adding that many anti-corruption cases are under trial.