DIAL 14400 Corruption Helpline Flooded With Calls In AP

AMARAVATI: The Dial 14400 citizen helpline number launched by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy last year has become a powerful weapon for the common man in the State. The helpline number meant to enable people to directly call and complain about corruption in any government departments has garnered huge response.

More than 55,049 people have dialled this number since its launch on November 25 last year, till September this year.

As per reports, corruption in government departments in the state has reduced significantly compared to the past. Most of the complaints coming to the call centre were from East Godavari, Guntur, and West Godavari districts, which ranked in the top three in the districts respectively, where the highest number of complaints were received. Most of the complaints received were against officers and employees of Revenue, Registration and Panchayati Raj departments, which the Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) has initiated action against. The complaints received through the helpline number were mostly about the officials demanding money for services, misappropriation of funds, and possessing assets beyond their known sources of income.

Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, reviewed the performance of the ACB directed officials to ensure prompt and corruption-free services in government offices and look into  the complaints from the Dial 14400 helpline.

ACB Director General (DG) PSR Anjaneyulu is reviewing complaints coming through the number and taking immediate action.

As per ACB officials, complaints related to bribes are processed within 15 days, and action is taken within 30 days after processing and codifying of information. The ACB has received 2,033 complaints received through other sources. Of these, 1,907 complaints have been resolved and 126 are pending. As of September this year, the ACB had directly registered 168 cases related to corruption and disproportionate assets beyond income.

Apart from calling the Toll-Free number 14400, complaints related to corruption can also be reported to the ACB by other means. One can dial the toll free number 1064 which falls under the Central Government purview.

Citizens can also complain through WhatsApp number - 8333995858,  mail  to dg_acb@ap. gvo.in or through the dgacbap facebook account and also through the twitter@ dgacbap account.