Panel completes interviews for RERA members

Sushil Manav

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 18

A selection committee headed by Justice Surya Kant of the Punjab and Haryana High Court has completed the process of interviews for the posts of member of the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA).

The Tribune has learnt that the committee constituted under the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, under Justice Surya Kant, which includes Legal Remembrance Kuldeep Jain and Principal Secretary (Town and Country Planning) Arun Kumar Gupta, has completed the process of interviewing nearly 60 persons who applied for the posts of member of the two benches of RERA – Gurugram and Panchkula.

Of the 68 persons who had applied for the RERA posts, nine had applied for the posts of chairperson only, 18 for both chairperson and member and 41 applied for the posts of member only.

Sources say that the interviews for the posts of member were held in the High Court on Sunday and the selection committee is yet to submit panels to the state government. Each of the two benches of the RERA is to have a chairman and two members.

Among those who had applied for the posts of member are KK Khandelwal, a serving IAS officer; RC Verma, Hardeep Kumar and Sameer Kumar, all retired IAS officers; AKS Pawar, Ram Singh Choudhary and Subhash Chander Goel, all retired district and sessions judges and Anil Kumar Upadhyaya, a retired IFS officer. The applicants also included eight women.

The committee earlier this month had sent panels comprising names of retired IAS officer KK Jalan and Khandelwal for the post of chairman for the Gurugram Bench and those of retired IAS officer Rajan Gupta and retired district and sessions judge AKS Pawar for the Panchkula Bench.

However, the selection of the chairpersons has run into controversy after Ravinder Chawla, a Faridabad resident, yesterday moved the CM Window opposing Khandelwal’s candidature on several counts.

Chawla has alleged that Khandelwal, a serving IAS officer, did not seek the government’s permission before applying for the post.

Earlier, Leader of Opposition Abhay Chautala had shot a missive to Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar opposing the appointment of Jalan and Gupta on the ground that both of them had given clean chit to Robert Vadra in Shikohpur land deal during Bhupinder Singh Hooda regime.

Abhay had stated in his letter that Jalan, the then Principal Secretary of the Town and Country Planning Department, was responsible for controversial acquisition of 1,407 acres of land for which the Supreme Court had earlier this month ordered a CBI probe.

The dispute

• Ravinder Chawla, a Faridabad resident, moved the CM Window opposing Khandelwal's candidature on several counts.
• Chawla has alleged that Khandelwal, a serving IAS officer, did not seek government's permission before applying for the post.
• Abhay Chautala had shot a missive to the CM opposing the appointment of Jalan and Gupta on the ground that both of them had given clean chit to Robert Vadra in Shikohpur land deal during the Congress rule