Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today inaugurated "Aaykar Sindhu," a new 13-floor complex for the Income Tax Department in Mumbai, while simultaneously delivering a sharp rebuke to government departments for their "laidback" administrative approach.
Speaking at the event, Sitharaman highlighted the department's protracted battle to reclaim and build on a prime piece of land in Mumbai's Nariman Point. Acquired in 1973, the plot remained undeveloped for decades, falling victim to illegal occupation due to procedural delays and bureaucratic indifference. The Minister emphasized that the department's 50-year struggle to construct its own headquarters should serve as a stark reminder of the challenges ordinary taxpayers face daily.
"The fact that you led it to have occupations, illegal occupation, shows somewhere in our governance, we are too laid back," Sitharaman stated, criticizing the lack of oversight that leaves state assets vulnerable. She stressed that it is someone's job to protect government property, and the excuse of having land but being unable to build on it due to encroachment is unacceptable.
The Finance Minister urged tax officers present to leverage their own frustrating experience as an incentive to reform their approach to public service. "Can this incentivise you to understand the position of a common citizen when he approaches you? Don't make them run from pillar to post where your authority is required; do the work for them," she implored.
Sitharaman clarified that her mandate was not to encourage unlawful concessions or compromise rules, but to eliminate arbitrary bottlenecks that transform routine administrative procedures into arduous ordeals for citizens. She called upon the department to abandon administrative indifference and act as a responsive facilitator for taxpayers across the nation.