UP Government Reverses Order Withholding Salaries Of 2.45 Lakh Employees, Extends Asset Declaration Deadline To 30 September

The Uttar Pradesh (UP) government has again extended the deadline for its employees to declare their movable and immovable assets on the state government's 'Manav Sampada' portal.

Earlier, the August salary of 2.45 lakh employees, who failed to declare their assets by the 31 August deadline, was stopped but the decision was reversed on Tuesday (3 September) morning.

The deadline to declare the assets has now been extended to 30 September. Of the 8.47 lakh UP government employees, 6.02 lakh have already submitted their details on the portal.

The order regarding this was issued in August last year with an initial deadline of 31 December 2023. However, the deadline was extended multiple times, earlier to 30 June, then to 31 July and 31 August.

UP Chief Secretary Manoj Kumar Singh earlier said that only employees who submit property details by 31 August will receive their August salary. The payments for those who fail to comply will be withheld.

Minister Danish Azad Ansari claimed that the move aims to enhance transparency and accountability within the government and is in line with Adityanath's zero-tolerance policy towards corruption.

Meanwhile, the opposition Samajwadi Party (SP) questioned the timing of the move and why the government was not able to implement the order even after multiple deadline extensions.

"Why did they not bring this in 2017? Now the Yogi Adityanath government is on the back foot, that's why they are doing this. They have realised all their employees are corrupt," SP spokesperson Ashutosh Verma said.