Odisha: Jagatsinghpur collector makes assets public

BHUBANESWAR: Sangram Keshari Mohapatra, who joined as collector of Jagatsinghpur district on Friday, has voluntarily disclosed details of his movable and immovable properties, days after chief minister Naveen Patnaik said all government employees and elected representatives would have to disclose their assets to the public every year.
Naveen had said the details would have to be submitted to the Lokayukta annually, but the state government is yet to finalize the rules for this.“As per Rule 21 of the Odisha Government Servant Conduct Rules, I have regularly submitted my property details to the government every three years. There is no provision to make it public, however,” said Mohapatra.
The Jagatsinghpur collector said the recent announcement of the chief minister would help bring transparency in the system.
‘I hope it will motivate other staff’
I have voluntarily disclosed details of my movable and immovable properties the day I joined as collector of the district. I hope it will motivate other employees to do the same,” said Mohapatra.
Although there is no written communication on the matter, the collector has urged all his subordinates in the district to voluntarily disclose their annual property statements.
Mohapatra had been transferred to the state general administration department in October ahead of the Tirtol byelection in November as he is a native of the constituency. With the byelection process having been completed, the state government has reappointed him as collector of the coastal district.
“I thank the chief minister for giving me the opportunity to serve the people of Jagatsinghpur district. I believe nothing can be more sacred than serving my motherland,” said senior OAS officer.