Haryana: Anti-Corruption Bureau gets the go-ahead to investigate IAS officer

Geetanjali Gayatri

Advertisement

Chandigarh, July 25

Three months after the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) sought permission to proceed against senior bureaucrat D Suresh in a case pertaining to the reallotment of a resumed plot to an educational institution in Gurugram, the Haryana Government has given its nod under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act to investigate the officer.

According to information, the permission against the 1995-batch officer has been granted by the Chief Secretary office in a case of re-allotment of a 1.5 acre resumed school site in Gurugram at original 1994 rates. The officer, D Suresh, was Chief Administrator, Haryana Shehri Vikas Parishad (HSVP), in 2019 when the re-allotment was made. The ACB, based on investigation of private persons, had sought permission from the Chief Secretary to proceed against Suresh in the case.

The Town and Country Planning Department has already cancelled the controversial re-allotment order of the school site. This was cancelled by Additional Chief Secretary, Town and Country Planning, Arun Gupta, earlier this month.

A school was issued a provisional allotment letter for a site in Gurugram in 1994. This allotment was revoked by the Estate Officer, Gurugram, in 2003, after the allottee failed to fulfil terms of the allotment. The appeal and revision by the allottee were dismissed in 2004 and 2008, respectively.

In 2012, the ACS was asked to undertake an inquiry in which he directed the Estate Officer in 2015 to allot 1 acre land instead of 1.5 acres and also claim 9 per cent simple interest on all outstanding dues from January 1994, when the provisional allotment letter was first issued.

Later, the allottee moved the court, seeking a site measuring 1.5 acres. The court issued directions that the matter be decided in three months. The revisional authority considered the matter and dismissed the claim in 2018. However, in May, 2019, Suresh, the then Chief Administrator, HSVP, passed an administrative order at his own level, allotting 1.5 acres in favour of the school, despite the government declining the same. At this juncture, the government ordered a probe by the ACB.