Upright IAS crusaders launch unique website

“If you know someone indulging in corrupt practices or you come to know of any corrupt practices around you which is harming the people and the country, just tell us and you need not sign up. We shall find and check the same to ensure that the guilty get punishment and such activities are checked,” assures the site.

It gives the names of 18 IAS officials who are executive members of Action Group.

The site is aimed at fighting corruption at all levels and is the brainchild of senior IAS official Shanker Pandey, posted at Kanpur. Pandey has already earned the wrath of a section of his seniors for mobilising like-minded people within the IAS cadre to wagea war against corruption.

However, the fight against corruption initiated by a few upright officials within the State has yielded no results so far, beyond attracting the people’s attention.

The Action Group opened Post Box 225 two years ago and appealed to people to mail their grievances against prevailing corruption and persons involved in such activities and made similar assurances of taking action against those found guilty. Though it attracted a number of letters, action has not been taken in any case.

The group made headlines when its members persuaded their colleagues to participate in a secret ballot, giving their estimates of the three most corrupt IAS officials.

Names of those conferred this dubious distinction were handed over to the then chief secretary Mata Prasad with the hope that the State Government would initiate action, but nothing happened.

A section of IAS officials also met Chief Minister Kalyan Singh and urged him to take action against those found guilty in the secretballot, but they were told that no action would be taken against anyone only because some people had identified them. “Come to me with concrete evidence and I will take action,” Singh told the officials.