Jaipur, Feb 12 (PTI) Senior BJP MLA Gulab Chand Kataria on Friday said that 279 cases of officers arrested by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) in the state while taking bribes were pending for departmental approval for action.

During Zero Hour in the Rajasthan Assembly while praising the work of ACB officers in arresting corrupt officials, he said that it is fortunate for the state the way the ACB has tightened its noose on such officials but sad that despite efforts action is not being taken. 

"From 2013 to 2021, 279 cases were pending for department approval and action is not being taken despite all efforts. A wrong message is going in public," the Leader of Opposition said in the House. 

He said that as per the Supreme Court's directions, approval should be given by the government within three months. Cases are pending from years and the morale of corrupt officials is high. So, approval should be given at the earliest so that action can be taken. 

The former home minister said that after keeping a case pending for a long time, department disapproves it for action. 

He said that if a case has to be disapproved then it should be sent in three-four months but keeping it pending for years breaks the morale of honest officers. 

Targeting the state government, Kataria said that speaking about zero-tolerance policy against corruption is easy buy keeping the pendency for long is a conspiracy to flourish corruption.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)