VMC commissioner M K Das has sent the notification to all Class I, II, and III officials asking them to furnish details about the property owned by them.

Sources revealed that the notification is expected to create discomfort for some of the officials and that there is going to be opposition to the move. A government resolution related to the matter has been in existence for long, but the officers have never followed it.

The notification issued to the VMC officials contains at least 16 points. Even the department heads have been asked to focus on the issue and ensure that the employees working under them furnish the required details.

“For us it was important to know the assets of all the officials from top to bottom. There should not be any discomfort in furnishing the details as prescribed in the format since the state government has asked for the details,” said Das.

He said, “We have decided to take the issue seriously and if anyone is found not furnishing the required details he will be asked to explain.”

Many officials, however, consider the notification to be yet another office circular. “This is not something new and we have been receiving similar notifications every year. This is nothing but a tactic to keep pressure on the employees by the state government. Those who have disproportionate assets would certainly not have it on their own names but on the names of their family members,” said a Class II official on condition of anonymity.

On the other hand, Das said, “We have decided to withold the salaries of those who fail to furnish the details as per the rule.”