NEW DELHI: The Narendra Modi government appears to have slipped on one of its election planks in its first year in office – to punish the corrupt bureaucrats According to the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC), prosecution sanction against as many as 34 officials including 12 IAS officers is pending with the Centre. In February last year, when the Congress-led UPA was in power, 15 IAS officers were being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation or CBI.The scam in which the sanction was sought by the CBI pertains to the UPA regime, which was ousted by the Modi-led NDA in May last year.Therefore, the deadline of three months set by the Supreme Court to either grant or reject a sanction has long passed in all these cases.Besides, according to CBI officials, there are another 18 cases of prosecution sanction against officers of the level of joint secretary and above lying with the central government where the deadline of three months has not yet passed.In all, there are 92 cases of sanction awaiting government nod where the agency is unable to file a charge-sheet in the absence of a sanction. “In many cases, we have filed chargesheet against accused person without a sanction but the same was challenged. Even courts do not appreciate this and the practice has resulted in acquittal in many cases,” said a senior CBI official, requesting not to be named.Among the cases in which IAS officers are under scanner include land scams, disproportionate assets cases and policy decisions favouring private parties, according to information available with the CVC.The NDA government recently introduced several amendments to the Prevention of Corruption Bill in the wake of reluctance from the bureaucrats to take decisions owing to fear of CBI action. The government has also proposed to protect honest bureaucrats and not to question decisions taken in national interest. An e-mail query sent to the Department of Personnel and Training on delay in grant of prosecution sanction remained unanswered.Some of the high-profile cases where the government has already crossed the deadline of three months:A 1982-batch MP-cadre IAS officer , Kumar has been booked for allegedly allowing the berthing of a foreign vessel in violation of rules in 2007.A 1983-batch IAS officer, Acharya was charged in a case of corruption related to industrial infrastructure in Hyderabad.Another 1983-batch IAS officer from Andhra Pradesh, Subramanyam was facing charges of corruption in the Emmar-MGF scam.A 1983-batch IAS officer from UP, Kant was under the scanner for his alleged role in the award of a contract involving a highaltitude road in Leh.The senior bureaucrat is being probed for his role in the Commonwealth Games scam. A 1985-batch IAS officer, Rai was the chairman of NDMC during the CWG. He was booked by the CBI in connection with alleged irregularities in the construction of a convention centre, which resulted in a loss of Rs 15 crore.An Andhra cadre IAS officer. Samuel, named by CBI in the charge-sheet, was principal secretary in the revenue department dealing with the allotment of land to the port project. The orders issued by Samuel allegedly benefited companies in the form of lands and licences, and they invested huge money in the businesses owned by YS Jaganmohan Reddy under a quid pro quo arrangement.