The Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG), Government of India, has been carrying out the Special Campaign for Swachhata in Government offices and disposal of pending matters through Special Campaigns over the years. The Special Campaign 4.0 is being rolled out by DARPG soon.

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), along with its subordinate offices, has participated enthusiastically in all tranches of Special Campaigns held so far and is gearing up for the Special Campaign 4.0.

In fact, CBDT has continued the momentum of the Special Campaign 3.0 on Swachhata in the offices of Income-tax Department located in various parts of the country. Cleanliness campaigns have been conducted at about 350 sites across the country after the Special Campaign 3.0. Further, various activities geared towards enhancement & efficient management of office spaces, better waste management practices, environment-friendly practices, citizen-centric initiatives, etc. have also been carried out on a regular basis across the country.

The CBDT has been encouraging various regions to carry out best practices. The Income Tax Department, North East Region, has been regularly reaching out to all sections of citizens under the theme “NER Converses”. As part of this, outreach programmes were held at Tawang (Arunachal Pradesh) on 29.04.2024, Aizawl (Mizoram) on 03.06.2024 and Mokokchung (Nagaland) on 29.07.2024. During these events the participants were sensitized about various facets of tax administration and also sensitized about their duties under the Income-tax Act, 1961, (the ‘Act’) which would make them eligible for the exemption under applicable provisions of the Act.

The Department also carried forward its HARIT Aayakar initiative launched as part of Special Campaign 2.0. Under the HARIT Aayakar initiative, one micro-forest (Vegetable Garden) of approx 13,000 sqft area was created in Income Tax Office Complex, Kannur, Kerala with diversified regenerative garden having various vegetables. The garden also helps in restoration of ground water and in re-fertilizing the soil with organic resources.

Further, in order to protect  air, water, and soil by recycling organic waste into renewable energy and soil products, while reducing GHG emissions, Bio-Gas plants have been installed in Aayakar Bhawan, Kochi and Income Tax Residential Quarters, Kochi.

As part of enhancement & efficient management of office spaces under the Swachhata theme, a new recreation hall cum crèche has been carved out in the Income Tax Office, Bhopal by removing scrap and old records.

A module on e-learning course on the Grievance Redressal Mechanism in Income Tax Department on iGOT platform of Karmayogi Bharat, was inaugurated by Union Finance Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman, in Special Campaign 3.0. It aims to build capacity of the officers and officials of the Department in public grievance redressal. The content of the Grievance Redressal Module involves inputs received from various verticals of the department, such as CPC, ITBA, NADT and various regions of the department. With continued emphasis for capacity building of officers and officials in this area, more than 36,270 officers and officials of the Department have enrolled and benefitted from the above course since its launch.