Chennai, July 20: The Tamil Nadu government has initiated a new campaign aimed at enhancing transparency in public administration. As part of this initiative, all government departments, district administrations, local bodies, public sector undertakings (PSUs), and government-owned companies in the state are directed to install anti-corruption information boards in prominent locations. These boards will clearly state that both giving and receiving bribes are punishable offenses.
The directive was issued through a government order signed by Chief Secretary M. Sai Kumar. According to the order, bilingual information boards in Tamil and English will be placed in each government office at locations easily visible to the public.
The government has also instructed all departments to publish the same anti-corruption message on their official websites. Additionally, a direct link to the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) portal will be made available on these websites.
The government order noted that despite several directives issued since 2006, many offices have not fully complied. In some cases, anti-corruption boards were not installed, while in others, they were placed in locations that were not easily visible to visitors.
The new order aims to implement this system uniformly across all government establishments in the state. Besides the message “Giving and receiving bribes is a crime,” the information boards will also display the address, telephone number, WhatsApp number, fax number, and official email ID of the DVAC.
The government hopes that easy access to this information will enable citizens to file complaints related to corruption without difficulty. All departments have been asked to issue similar directives to statutory boards, corporations, local bodies, government companies, and public sector undertakings under their administrative control.
Officials have been instructed to ensure the prompt implementation of these orders. Inspection branches of various departments and the inspection cells of district collector offices have been directed to verify that the information boards are installed as per the prescribed format and that government directives are fully complied with.
Furthermore, the government has instructed departmental secretaries and heads to submit a compliance report to the Human Resource Management Department after confirming adherence to the orders in all offices under their jurisdiction.
This new initiative comes shortly after the launch of a dedicated WhatsApp helpline by the DVAC, aimed at facilitating citizens in quickly registering complaints about corruption and further strengthening transparency and accountability in public administration.
Deependra Singh Chundawat is a Senior Sub-Editor at Udaipur Kiran, specializing in a wide range of technology topics including mobile phones, applications, gaming, PCs, and wearables. Along with covering the latest tech news, he also creates engaging web stories. Passionate about emerging technologies, he stays up to date with the newest trends and enjoys reading and writing about the latest mobile launches and digital innovations.