The state secretariat. Telegraph picture

Patna, Feb. 13: To bring the asset details of its employees in public domain, the state government machinery in Bihar has started preparations to do the gargantuan task of uploading these details on the government’s website.

The magnitude of the work could be gauged from the fact that there are about five lakh employees, ranging from those belonging to all India services to the class-III employees, whose asset details would be uploaded on the website.

“Directives have been issued to departments and officials concerned for making necessary arrangements for scanning the documents which would be submitted by the employees and their subsequent uploading on the website of departments/offices,” general administration department (Gad) principal secretary Deepak Kumar told The Telegraph. He added that the IT department has been asked to coordinate this work.

According to the government’s directive, all the employees have to furnish the asset details in a format that has been provided to departments and districts.

To ensure that the information provided is legible, a directive has been issued for providing typewritten information.

February 28 is the last date of submission of asset details and salary payment of those employees, who fail to provide information in the stipulated time, would be stopped.

Kumar said efforts were also being made to set up a facility which could help in centralised storage of data and uploading it on the state government’s website so that those interested in procuring such information could get it by visiting just one website.

Sharing details about the approximate time that would be consumed in uploading the asset details, the Gad principal secretary said: “As the numbers are high, the task is likely to be completed by March.”

Having got an unprecedented mandate in the 2010 Assembly elections, the Nitish Kumar government after coming to power for the second time, made its intentions clear that transparency in the functioning of the government and check on corruption would be one of the main goals of the government.

Nitish ensured that all the ministers declare their assets. The details of the assets of the chief minister and ministers were made public in the beginning of the year.

Having set example for others, Nitish then ordered that the same would be applicable in case of government employees, except the ones in class-IV services.

With the state government tightening its noose for implementation of the rules in case of Bihar government employees too, things are changing fast.

Sources in the state secretariat said a good number of government employees have started filing their asset details this year even though the deadline is about 15 days away.