Patna, Sep 14 (IANS): Writing in his blog for the first time since returning to power, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has warned corrupt officials that their property would be seized and used for public purpose and said his government has already set a precedent.
Referring to a primary school opened in the home of a high-ranking but allegedly corrupt civil servant, Nitish Kumar late Tuesday wrote in his blog:"This should serve as a warning to all those public servants who have acquired ill gotten money in the coming months."
He announced that many more buildings belonging to corrupt officials are likely to be seized and turned into schools, night shelters or other public utility centres.
Last week the Bihar government acted on its promise when it opened a primary school in the confiscated palatial house of Shiv Shakar Verma, an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer alleged to have assets disproportionate to his known sources of income.
Nitish Kumar said the opening of a school in the house of a corrupt official is a first for the country. "Our government finally demonstrated something that I had been rather passionate about. It embodies government's resolve to address corruption."
Kumar said the basic objective of the state's anti-graft legislation is to instil a sense of fear in the minds of corrupt public servants.
"I think the provision for confiscation of assets of the accused will act as a deterrant among public servants indulging in unscrupulous practices to earn wealth. When they see that their property earned through corrupt practices is ultimately seized by the government, they will realise the futility of amassing wealth.
"Our aim is to inflate the component of loss to such deterrant levels that it automatically defeats the notion of gain that impels people into dubious and corrupt pursuits to amass wealth," he wrote.
"I can assure you that this fight will go on in the future as well," he said.
He was writing his blog after a gap of 11 months.
"Such was a moment I had been patiently waiting for all these months to resume my blog writing. When it finally happened, I decided to share my thoughts with you," he said.
"During my assembly election rallies last year, I had made a promise to the people of Bihar. I had told them that I would open schools in the buildings of the corrupt public servants. When it finally happened, I thought I had fulfilled my promise," Kumar said.