Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik administers the integrity pledge to state government employees during the vigilance awareness week every year, but
the number of corrupt employees in the state keeps rising and so does the conviction rate.

The fact was highlighted when the chief minister on Monday administered the oath of honesty and integrity to government employees in observance of the vigilance awareness week.

Addressing the occasion, Naveen said: “My government has adopted a zero-tolerance approach to corruption so that public services are made available to the people of the state in a fair and transparent manner.”

The chief minister said: “As a part of the zero-tolerance approach to corruption, a number of public servants have been dismissed and many have been given premature retirement in suitable cases as a strong deterrent.”

According to Odisha vigilance, during the year 2023, it has registered 202 criminal cases against 365 persons including 38 Class-I officers and 37 Class-II officers till October 27.

During this period, 66 misappropriation cases relating to the misappropriation of public money against 168 persons, including 141 public servants and 27 private persons have been registered.

Chargesheets have been placed in 198 cases against 486 persons including 42 Class-I officers, 31 Class-II officers and 202 Class-III employees.

During the period, 130 persons have been arrested, which include 18 Class-I officers, 25 Class-II officers, 71 Class-III employees and others. Altogether, 118 accused persons have been convicted during the period including 13 Class-I officers.

The government dismissed 27 public servants this year following their conviction in vigilance cases.