Social media verdicts, digital harassment and online smear campaigns against bureaucrats without even any trial and verification are just dampening the spirit of bureaucracy.
Bureaucrats are falling prey to their own self disclosures filed in Immovable Property Returns – mandatory for public servants under service conduct rules.
Social media sharks have just trained their guns on bureaucrats after questions were raised on assets of Rajasthan's senior IAS officer Shikhar Agarwal and his IPS wife Prashakha Mathur. That just opened the floodgates and people started questioning IPR of officers without any rhyme and reason.
“The situation is getting alarming. Every Tom, Dick and Harry is tossing names, breaking news and alleging top officers of high level corruption without naming. They don't have any findings, any proof or evidence. They, irrespective of their own credentials, are just maligning images of officers,” said R C Jain.
Under the barrage of attack from ‘social media activists', these bureaucrats are left in the lurch. So much so that, even frivolous tweets are forcing them to react and give explanations.
“Such acts will further worsen the situation. We are accountable to public and we have a firm belief in transparency. We have disclosed our assets in our IPR. That doesn't mean we need explain each of our possessions. Social media is not the place for any trial or passing any verdict,” said a senior IAS officer.
State should penalise those circulating unverified allegations
Tarnishing the image of officers misusing the information in the IPR is nothing less than supari killing. Being civil servants, they are continuously under scrutiny. But that doesn't mean raising questions on their integrity and passing one-sided verdict.
“It has become fashionable to bash civil servants on social media. It attracts attention and people feast on spicy stuff. But at the same time it demoralises officers who are meant to implement schemes. They lose interest in decision making and development work suffers,” said a senior IAS officer.
Can't top officers afford premium flats after 30 years of service?
A top level IAS or IPS officer earns a salary of around Rs 3.5 lakh a month. If his/her spouse is also at the same level then the household salary would be Rs 7 lakh a month. To reach this level, they must have put in at least 30 years of service.
“Can't they buy flats at prime locations with savings, inheritance and investments accrued during all the years. Why do people suspect that their assets are built on black money when they don't question a panwala or a businessman owning multiple assets despite knowing about their tax evasion practices,” said a senior IAS officer.
Vivek Shukla is a management graduate who has worked in corporate worked for 20 years and is now pursuing his passion — news.
