Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Government on Friday approved an amendment aimed at strengthening compliance with the submission of Annual Property Returns (APR) by state government employees, with the objective of ensuring timely disclosure of assets through the Human Resource Management System (HRMS) portal.
According to Rule 21(4) of the Odisha Government Servants’ Conduct (Amendment) Rules, 2021, all government employees are mandated to submit their Annual Property Returns every year by January 31. Despite the provision of an online filing facility, authorities have noted that a significant number of employees continue to miss the deadline.
In the existing framework, there was no specific provision for penal action in cases of delayed submission or non-submission of APRs, resulting in repeated instances of non-compliance. To address this gap, the state government has introduced an amendment incorporating disciplinary measures for violations.
Under the revised rules, failure to submit APRs within the stipulated timeframe will be treated as misconduct and will attract minor penalty proceedings under Rule 16 of the Odisha Civil Services (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules, 1962. Officials said the move is intended to ensure timely compliance without affecting routine administrative functioning.
However, the government has clarified that stricter action will continue to be taken in cases involving false or misleading declarations. Such cases will be treated as major misconduct and will invite proceedings under Rule 15 of the same rules.
