Uttar Pradesh News: 13 lakh Govt employees may lose August salaries due to THIS order. Details here

The Yogi Adityanath-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Uttar Pradesh has asked government employees to declare their movable and immovable assets by August 31, failing which they lose their salaries for this month.

Earlier, the deadline as per the order issued in August last year was December 31 which was extended first to June 30, and then to July 31. With just 26 per cent of the 17.8 lakh employees declaring their assets on the government portal Manav Sampada, the human resources management system, as per the order, the deadline has now been pushed to August 31, 2024, according to a report in NDTV.

As many as 13 lakh government employees in Uttar Pradesh are at the risk of losing their salaries this month if they fail to comply with an order, according to reports.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Secretary Manoj Kumar Singh has insisted on strict adherence to this order, saying only those who submit their asset details before the new deadline will have their salaries disbursed. The rule applies to all categories of officers and employees. Officials said that those who do not declare their assets might also become ineligible for promotions.

According to the NDTV report, the government justified the step by saying it enhances transparency and accountability.

"This measure aims to enhance transparency and accountability within the government. We have a zero-tolerance policy towards corruption under the leadership of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Prime Minister Narendra Modi," UP government minister Danish Azad Ansari was quoted as saying in the NDTV report.

The opposition has criticised the move and slammed the government for failing to implement it. "Why did they not bring this in 2017? Now the Yogi Adityanath government is on the back foot, that's why they are doing this. They have realised all their employees are corrupt. This is a follow-up; they were not able to implement this," Samajwadi Party spokesperson Ashutosh Verma told NDTV.