Lokpal & Lokayukt Bill 2016: All You Need To Know

The Lokpal & Lokayukta (Amendment) Bill, 2016 was passed by the parliament & it was introduced by Personnel, Public Grievances & pensions ministry.

The Bill amends the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013 in relation to the declaration of assets and liabilities by public servants.
It amends Section forty-four coping with the declaration of assets and liabilities of public servants.
It defines ‘Public servants’ as a variety of persons together with the Prime Minister, Ministers, MPs & Officers of the government or of any organisation, trust or Non-government Organization (NGO) that gets Rs. Ten lakh as foreign aid or Rs. One Crore as government aid.
The Lokpal Act needs a govt. employee to declare his assets & liabilities, that of his other half (Wife or husband) & dependent kids. Such declarations should be submitted to the corresponding authority within 30 days of entering the office.
The public servant should file annual IT returns of such assets by July 31st of every year.
The Act also orders statements of such declarations to be published on the relevant ministry’s website by Aug-31st of that year.

The modifications were sought to be passed quickly without any debate & deliberation.
Some industry lobby groups & trusts, NGOs under Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) want the definition of ‘Public Servant’ to be revised.
The involvement of government would create interruptions in the working of trusts, societies, charitable & non-profit organisations.

The bill targets at providing the fifth extension for the revelation of assets indefinitely which should be made time bound.
The standing commission of parliament on personnel, public grievances, Law & Justice will be assessing the bill again & suggest changes to section 44, & submit its report by the next parliament session.
The board is also likely to define ‘public servant’ taking into consideration inputs from different stakeholders.