2016 saw lowest corruption cases in Maharashtra in past 3 years: ACB

The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) saw a major dip in trap cases in 2016 with just 967 cases compared to 1,234 in 2015 and 1,245 in 2014 across the state.

As per the latest statistics available till December 26, 2016, the police department was the most corrupt with 224 cases, followed by revenue department with 223 cases. The revenue department and the police departments are in constant touch with people and hence, the corruption in these departments is widely reported to ACB.

After trapping an official, ACB officials go through the financial and property details of the accused. If the amount exceeds the known sources of income, a case with regard to disproportionate assets is registered. The year also saw a dip in cases of disproportionate assets, as only 14 cases were registered, as against 35 cases in 2015.

Mumbai continued to be the lowest across the states, when it came to corrupt government servants or their accomplices being caught red-handed in traps, with only 56 cases. The highest number of cases were registered in Pune (184) followed by Nashik (149), Nagpur (132), Thane (119), Aurangabad (116), Amrawati (110), Nanded (101).

ACB sources stated that efforts are on to sensitise the masses to register a complaint whenever a bribe is sought, but many refrain due to the procedures involved and the time taken for the verdict in courts. “At the end of the year, demonitisation may have also impacted the number of traps registered due to crash crunch,” said an ACB officer.

ACB officials said that many people in the city do not want to get involved in the procedures relating to a trap being laid and instead prefer to pay up to get their jobs done quickly, as was observed from the dismal figures in Mumbai. Moreover, other ranges also cover a larger area. When it comes to rural pockets, people with less income levels desist to pay up, when compared to those living in city, .

In a bid to create awareness, the ACB introduced a universal number to register complaints for the entire state — 1064. The number was widely promoted in both urban and rural areas.

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