Patna: The revenue and land reforms department has initiated disciplinary action against eight more circle officers (COs) and revenue officials on the charges of corruption and irregularities, taking the number of such officials to 50 this month, minister Dilip Kumar Jaiswal said on Friday.During a review of departmental matters on Friday, Jaiswal approved punitive measures and departmental proceedings against the eight personnel. Santu Kumar Ram, the then circle inspector of Ratni-Faridpur in Jehanabad, has been slapped a penalty of 100% permanent cut in his pension following his arrest while accepting a bribe by the Vigilance Investigation Bureau.A chargesheet has been filed against Surjeshwar Srivastava, the then in charge CO of Kargahar (Rohtas), for remaining continuously absent without notice or valid reason. A second show-cause notice has been issued to Jayprakash Swarnkar, the then CO of Murliganj (Madhepura), regarding the disposal of a large number of mutation cases even after his transfer.Departmental proceedings have been initiated against Ajay Kumar Sarkar, the then CO of Narayanpur (Bhagalpur), for allegedly demanding a bribe of Rs5 lakh in exchange for processing a mutation. Similarly, departmental proceedings are ongoing against Seema Rani, the then CO of Dehri (Rohtas), regarding serious allegations of land misappropriation and irregularities in mutation cases involving the forgery of govt land records.Irregularities were found against Amod Kumar, the then revenue employee of Ekangarsarai (Nalanda), and Vijay Kumar Gupta, the then CO of Bounsi (Banka), regarding the rejection and subsequent approval of the same document. A penalty involving a 10% cut in pension for two years has been imposed on Vijay, while a reply to a second show-cause notice has been sought from Amod. Charges have been framed against Nagendra Prasad, the then CO of Belhar, Banka, in connection with similar cases.Jaiswal said action against corruption and irregularities within the department will continue unabated under the ‘zero tolerance’ policy. Action has been taken against a total of 50 COs and staff members in the revenue department regarding various matters over the past month, he said.
