Indore (Madhya Pradesh): If figures are any indicator, the panchayat and rural development department has emerged as the most corrupt government department in Indore division, as per the official data received from the Lokayukta.

Over the last three years, the Lokayukta, special police establishment, has taken the highest number of actions against the department—almost half of the total—highlighting significant irregularities in its functioning.

According to the data, the panchayat and rural development department leads the corruption list, with 57 out of 137 actions taken against its officials and employees. The home department ranks second with 14 cases, followed by the revenue department with 13, the Urban administration & development department with 10 and the health department with 8 actions.

This data reflects a perturbing trend of corruption in key government departments responsible for governance, infrastructure, healthcare and public welfare. The Lokayukta’s actions have included cases of bribery, raids related to disproportionate assets and misuse of authority. However, there is one the department, Madhya Pradesh Gramin Bank, which has had zero action against it in the past three years.

SP Lokayukta Rajesh Sahay said, “We have taken 53 actions for bribery, raid and misuse of authority in 2024, 42 in 2023 and 42 in 2022, totaling 137 actions over the last three years. Of these, 57 actions were against officials and employees of the panchayat and rural development department, 14 against the home department, 13 against the revenue department, 10 against the urban administration & development department and 8 against the health department.”