The Uttar Pradesh state government has defended its recent actions as part of a broader initiative to combat corruption and enhance governance within the state. A significant development in this initiative is the mandate for over 13 lakh government employees to declare their movable and immovable assets by August 31. Failure to comply with this order, issued by the Yogi Adityanath administration, could result in the loss of their salaries.
Asset Declaration Requirement
Initially announced in August of the previous year, the order requires all government employees to submit their asset details on the Manav Sampada portal, which serves as the state’s human resources management system. Chief Secretary Manoj Kumar Singh has emphasized that only those who meet the deadline will be eligible to receive their salaries.
Consequences of Non-Compliance
The directive applies to all categories of officers and employees. Those who do not comply will face not only a salary freeze but also ineligibility for promotions. Despite multiple extensions to the initial deadline—from December 31 to June 30, and then to July 31—only 26% of the state’s 1.78 million employees have adhered to the requirement. This leaves over 1.3 million employees at risk of missing their August salaries.
Previous Actions and Future Plans
In August 2023, the Uttar Pradesh government instructed the heads of all state departments to upload and verify the data of all government officers and employees on the Manav Sampada portal. This action followed the revocation of transfer orders for more than 70 regional forest officers and the initiation of an investigation into alleged transfer irregularities.
New Recruitment Initiatives
On a different note, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announced plans to create 200,000 government jobs over the next two years. As part of this initiative, the recruitment process for over 60,000 police positions is set to commence across the state. Adityanath has encouraged local youths to actively participate in these upcoming job opportunities and warned against any attempts to undermine the process, threatening severe consequences including imprisonment and asset confiscation for such actions.
