Declared, but not disclosed: What top bureaucrats leave out of property filings

Every year, bureaucrats across the country are required to declare the immovable assets they own — a guardrail in force since 2011 to deter corruption and keep those who run the government accountable in the public eye. But their latest asset declarations show how loose this safeguard actually is, a review by The Indian Express shows.

Of the 131 top-ranking Secretary-level officials, in this category, the newspaper was able to access the declarations of 102 under the latest mandatory filings posted on official portals in the public domain on March 31, 2026. They show that of the 244 self-acquired properties declared, 115 do not include details of area or dimensions, and 115 do not have their current value. Ten officials among the 102 have declared “nil” self-acquired properties.

Consider some of the other key takeaways from the filings of the 102 officials mandated to declare details of their immovable assets, and those of their spouses and dependents:

* The 244 self-acquired properties in declarations reviewed by this newspaper include 219 residential, three commercial and 22 agricultural land parcels.

* In all, 44 of the 102 officials and/or their spouses own three or more self-acquired properties. Seven officials own five such properties each, 13 own four each and 24 hold three each.

* Topping the list is a Secretary-rank IAS officer who has declared eight self-acquired properties, including seven in Kerala and one in Meghalaya.

* At the second spot is another Secretary-rank IAS officer with six self-acquired properties in Maharashtra, UP and Delhi. These include three properties in Mumbai and a DDA flat in New Delhi.

Story continues below this ad

The officials include 95 Secretaries of departments under the Central Government, including those attached to the President’s Secretariat, Prime Minister’s Office, NITI Aayog and the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser, as well as Chief Secretaries of 28 states and eight Union Territories.

The Indian Express tracked only immovable assets declared as self-acquired, not ancestral properties. The latest filings of the 102 officials show:

* Of the 244 properties, the “present value” column is filled in for only 129 properties. For the rest, officials wrote “not known”, “value not determined”, “as per circle rate”, “not valuated”, “not assessed”, “not ascertained” or “no assessment made”.

* Of the ten officials who have declared no self-acquired property in the latest filings, an IAS officer from the J&K cadre has declared “nil” every year since 2011. The other nine declared assets in some of their earlier declarations but not in the latest filing.

Story continues below this ad

* Residential properties with declared measurements range from 617 square feet to 23,925 square feet. Agricultural land ranges from small plots to 39 acres.

* Most properties are in the Delhi-NCR region and state capitals. Many are allotted in cooperative societies such as the Kendriya Vihar projects of the Central Government Employees Welfare Housing Organisation.

The 131 Secretaries/Chief Secretaries and other officials include nine scientists, five from the Indian Foreign Service and three from the IPS. One official heading two departments is from the Indian Legal Service, another is from the Indian Postal Service, and the rest are IAS officers — most belong to the 1989 to 1998 batches.

Secretaries head their departments and rank next only to the Cabinet Secretary. Chief Secretaries head the bureaucracy in states and Union Territories. In effect, these officials run administrations under the political leadership at the Centre and in the states.

Story continues below this ad

Every bureaucrat under the conduct rules of their respective services must update the immovable assets of himself or herself, spouse and dependents by January 31 each year. The returns are to be placed in the public domain by March 31. Such public disclosure began in 2011, following RTI petitions, demands for a Lokpal and an anti-corruption movement.

Section 44 of the Lokpal Act required every official to declare all movable and immovable assets, as electoral candidates, MPs and ministers do. The provision was amended in December 2016 to say the rules would be notified “in due course” to prescribe the form, manner and timelines for filing declarations of assets and liabilities by public servants. Those rules are still awaited.

The Indian Express confirmed that the officers whose declarations were scrutinised were in their respective positions as on October 1, 2026.

The Cabinet Secretariat and the Department of Personnel and Training did not respond to emailed questions from The Indian Express on whether any mechanism exists to verify the declarations, whether action was taken against officials who left out required details in their 2025 filings, and what became of the rules promised under Section 44 of the Lokpal Act.

Story continues below this ad

Officials report additions to their movable assets to the government above a certain value, but these are not made public. Ministers’ details are on the PMO website, electoral candidates’ movable and immovable assets are in the public domain, and the assets and liabilities of Supreme Court judges were made public last year.