Odisha Vigilance Week: CM Warns Corrupt Officials, Cites Results
Bhubaneswar, October 27: Speaking at the state-level programme of Vigilance Awareness Week 2026, Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Tuesday warned corrupt officials and employees, saying the government is no longer functioning from an ivory tower. He said the administration is now going to the people and addressing their problems on the ground.
The event was held at the Convention Centre of Lok Seva Bhawan. Majhi said the state's Jan Shikayat Nivaran grievance programme is a key tool for stopping corruption at the local level. Through it, people report corruption to ministers and the Chief Minister, and action is taken on those reports.
The Chief Minister administered an oath of integrity to officers and participants at the event. He called the vigilance department the eyes and ears of good governance. In his view, good governance means more than policies and schemes. It requires fully stopping corruption and making sure public money reaches the right people.
Majhi said the state government is taking wide-ranging steps to make Odisha Vigilance more capable and robust.
Expressing gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the JAM (Jan Dhan, Aadhaar, Mobile) system, he said the Prime Minister had used technology to eliminate corruption from the grassroots. The system, he added, has stopped misuse and leakage of government funds and is a blessing for the poor.
He outlined three strategies his government has adopted to tackle corruption. These are a zero-tolerance policy on corruption, legal action based on intelligence regardless of an officer's post or tenure, and punishment for officials caught in corruption cases. He said he was satisfied that the vigilance department is implementing these strategies fearlessly and professionally.
Majhi said that in the last two and a half years, Odisha Vigilance has taken action against an IAS officer, eight officers of chief engineer rank, two DFOs, joint commissioners of Excise and the State Transport Authority, three deputy directors of the Mines Department, five tahsildars and four BDOs, along with several others.
Following convictions in corruption cases, 41 government employees have been dismissed from service, while pensions of 91 retired employees have been withheld in the same period. The conviction rate of Odisha Vigilance, Majhi said, went up from 50 per cent in 2025 to 65 per cent by September this year.
The Chief Minister also said the state government has approved the Odisha IT Policy to promote modern technology. A Preventive Vigilance Research Wing is being created within Odisha Vigilance to identify areas where corruption may occur and people involved in it.
Linking the event to this year's theme, Integrity for Prosperity, Majhi said strong moral values, transparency and honesty are vital in the fight against corruption. He urged government employees to show integrity and dedication and asked everyone to make honesty part of their daily life.