The revenue department is a topper when it comes to corrupt practices, with the highest number of cases registered against its personnel by the Vigilance Commission and the Anti Corruption Bureau.
The Vigilance Commission found irregularities and recommended action in 517 cases, of which the most - 115 cases - pertained to the revenue department. Similarly, of the 251 corruption cases booked by the ACB, 89 are of revenue department officials. The saving grace for the department is that due to swift action by senior officials, it also came top in prosecuting the corrupt and recovering from them the money they had swindled.
The annual report of the Vigilance Commission, which was recently submitted to Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy by Vigilance Commissioner S.V. Prasad, revealed that municipal administration was the second most corrupt department with 59 cases against it, followed by the panchayat raj and rural development departments (48 cases), general administration department (46 cases), agriculture department (39 cases) and education department (25 cases).
The Vigilance Commission has recommended suspension of 240 officials including 108 officers and 132 lower category staff. It wants four officials to be shifted from their present posts. The commission also recommended prosecution of 205 government employees including 79 officers. Disciplinary action was recommended against 1050 employees.