Chennai, July 20: The Tamil Nadu government has initiated a new campaign aimed at enhancing transparency in public administration. This initiative mandates the installation of anti-corruption information boards in all state government departments, district administrations, local bodies, public sector undertakings (PSUs), and government-owned companies. These boards will prominently display messages stating 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 locations where the public can easily see them.
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 failed to comply fully. In some instances, anti-corruption boards were not installed at all, while in others, they were placed in locations not easily visible to the public.
The new order aims to implement this system uniformly across all government establishments in the state.
In addition to the message “Giving and receiving bribes is a crime,” the information boards will also display the contact details of the DVAC, including the address, telephone number, WhatsApp number, fax number, and official email ID.
The government hopes that easy access to this information will enable citizens to report corruption-related issues without difficulty. All departments have been instructed to issue similar directives to statutory boards, corporations, local bodies, government companies, and PSUs under their administrative control.
Officials have been directed to ensure the prompt implementation of these orders.
To monitor compliance, inspection branches of various departments and the inspection units of district collector offices have been tasked with verifying that the information boards are installed according to the prescribed format and that government directives are fully adhered to.
Furthermore, the government has instructed departmental secretaries and heads to submit compliance reports 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 (9498180936) by the recently established Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC). The helpline aims to facilitate the swift reporting of corruption complaints and further strengthen transparency and accountability in public administration.
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