NEW DELHI: In the midst of political heat over scams, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has decided to make public assets and liabilities of his ministerial colleagues.
Details about the assets and liabilities of all ministers would now be placed on the website of the Prime Minister’s Office and the information is likely to be uploaded in a couple of days, sources said.
Cabinet secretary K M Chandrasekhar has written to all union ministers recently that the Prime Minister has approved placing of information regarding details of the assets and liabilities received from them in public domain as part of the efforts to enhance transparency in governance.
The ministers have so far provided information about their assets and liabilities to the Prime Minister through a declaration under the ministers’ Code of Conduct.
Few months back, the Cabinet Secretary had reminded the ministers to submit their annual accounts of assets and liabilities to the Prime Minister.
The Code of Conduct states that “a person immediately after entering office as a minister, and in any case within a period of two months from the date of assumption of office, shall disclose to the Prime Minister, or the Chief Minister, as the case may be, details of the assets and liabilities, and of business interests, of himself and of members of his family…”
The move comes on the heels of the government facing the opposition heat over corruption in Adarsh Housing Society, Commonwealth Games and the 2G spectrum allocation.
Assets and liabilities of Supreme Court judges are already in the public domain. (PTI)
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