312 officials removed from service for corruption, lack of integrity: Jitendra Singh

MoS for PMO Jitendra Singh on Wednesday said that the Centre has forced 312 officials to retire on the grounds of ineffectiveness or lack of integrity.

In the Parliament, the government said that the action against the official was taken after reviewing works of around 1.2 lakh officials at the Group A and Group B level.

It comes in response to DMK leader A Raja who sought a reply in various questions including whether the government has ordered compulsory retirement to some of the government officials across the country.

Citing the applicable Disciplinary Rules, Singh said: "The government also has the absolute right to retire Government officials prematurely on the ground of lack of integrity and ineffectiveness, in public interest."

The "rules lay down the policy of periodic review and premature retirement of government servants, which is a continuous process," Singh stressed.

"For the period July 2014-May 2019, a total of 36,756 Group-A and 82,654 Group-B officers have been reviewed," Singh's reply said, adding that relevant provisions, "have been invoked /recommended against 125 Group-A and 187 Group B officers," Singh said.