The Treasury Directorate has initiated a slew of deterrent measures to eliminate embezzlement and other fraudulent practices and streamline the user management of various applications installed under the Integrated Financial Management System (IFMS).
The decision follows the arrest of a senior accountant accused of siphoning off about ₹2 crore from the treasury.
A circular issued by the directorate has asked employees to switch over to dynamic password, the system of changing password at regular intervals and cautioned them against sharing their password with colleagues.
The present system of employees having one password for a long duration was found to be one of the prime reasons for committing fraud. Dynamic password is a panacea to it.
Senior accountants who officiate as district coordinators of IFMS have been authorised to deactivate the user privileges of employees who get transferred and on joining duty at another office fresh login ID should be provided in line with their responsibilities.
Retiring employees
Treasury officials should furnish details of retiring employees to the district treasury officer the same day of their retirement to deactivate their user privileges and it should be intimated to the director too.
Sub-treasury officers should ensure that the retiring employees do not stored their login details in browsers such as Mozilla, Firefox, Google Chrome, Internet Explorer and such others.
System administrators could seek the assistance of financial management services vendors to clear the login details of recalcitrant employees, the circular says.
Proactive role
District coordinators who so far had only a subdued role in system management have been delegated a proactive role in the system management. The circular has also asked employees to log out of the system on leaving their seats and ensure that the transferred and retiring employees are not storing in their desk, computer or browser their login details..
Finance Department sources said that a four-member panel headed by the Finance Secretary has been tasked to submit recommendations for plugging the loopholes in system management. The panel is likely to recommend biometric system too to prevent malpractices.
Though transfer of employees once in three years is mandatory, a large number of them manage to evade transfers, mostly using political clout and that also should be addressed, sources said.