India
115 of 244 top bureaucrat properties lack area or value
The Indian Express·
A review of mandatory asset filings posted on March 31, 2026 found 115 of 244 self-acquired properties declared by 102 of 131 Secretary-level officials lack area or dimensions. Another 115 entries omit current value. Ten of the 102 officials listed nil self-acquired property. Rules promised under Section 44 of the Lokpal Act remain unnotified since a December 2016 amendment.
Prism
What It Means For You
- Public filings since 2011 are meant to let citizens compare declared assets with visible wealth.
- Incomplete area or value fields make it harder to spot unexplained holdings in Delhi-NCR and state capitals.
- Nil declarations by ten officials leave no self-acquired property on record for this cycle.
What's Happening
- The Indian Express reviewed 102 declarations of 131 Secretary-level and Chief Secretary posts.
- Filings cover self-acquired residential, commercial and agricultural parcels, not ancestral property.
- The Cabinet Secretariat and Department of Personnel and Training did not respond to emailed questions.
What the filings require
- Conduct rules require immovable asset updates by January 31 each year, with public posting by March 31.
- Section 44 of the Lokpal Act once required full asset disclosure; a 2016 amendment deferred rulemaking.
- Seven officials declared five self-acquired properties each, with one Secretary listing eight.
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