Jail soil sold cheap, Lokayukta for probe against 3 officials

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 8

Haryana Lokayukta Justice Nawal Kishore Agarwal (retd) has recommended inquiry against Jagjit Singh, IG Prisons; Sunil Sangwan, Superintendent, Rohtak jail, and Dayanand, Superintendent, Jhajjar jail, for the alleged sale of farm land soil worth Rs 3 crore for Rs 3 lakh.

A Karnal resident, Bharat Bhushan, had filed a complaint against the three jail officials in 2018.

District Jail, Rohtak, has 19.5 acres of farm land but it was uneven. So, in December 2014, the then Superintendent wrote to DGP Prisons for its levelling. An estimate of about Rs 1 crore was submitted in 2015 after a “superficial” survey “without any measurement”.

In 2016, the then DGP Prisons formed a committee, comprising Jagjit Singh, Sangwan and Dayanand, for a viable solution to the issue.

They recommended lifting of the extra soil through an open auction. ACS Jail approved the proposal in April 2017 but mentioned that proper assessment of material must be made. In May, DGP Prisons asked the same committee to carry out the auction.

“The aforesaid committee — in utter violation of the aforesaid approval — held an auction. They did not bother to ascertain the pre-auction topography of the jail farm land; to conduct technical survey of the land in consultation with the Mining Department for assessment of the material required to be lifted,” said the Lokayukta.

He added, “Obviously, the quantity of material (soil) was also not mentioned in the Auction Notice published in the newspaper so as to make the auction procedure transparent.”

The auction was held in July 2017 and the contract was allotted at the bid price of Rs 3 lakh.

After allegations, an inquiry was assigned to then Inspector General of Prisons-cum-Chief Vigilance Officer M Ravi Kiran who held Jagjit Singh, Sangwan and Dayanand guilty. He mentioned that the surplus soil of jail farm land would have fetched Rs 3.01 crore and a huge loss had occurred to the public exchequer.

But the then DGP Prisons sought some clarifications from Ravi Kiran on July 22, 2018, on the assessment of soil to be lifted and following of auction procedure as per the advertisement. The Lokayukta pointed out that such clarifications were unnecessary.

Auction held in 2017, fetched Rs3 lakh

• District Jail, Rohtak, has 19.5 acres of farm land but it was uneven. In December 2014, the then Superintendent wrote to DGP Prisons for its levelling
• In 2016, the then DGP Prisons formed a committee for a viable solution to the issue. They recommended lifting of the extra soil through an open auction
• The auction was held in July 2017 and the contract was allotted at the bid price of Rs3 lakh
• After allegations, an inquiry was conducted which held Jagjit Singh, Sunil Sangwan and Dayanand guilty. It mentioned that the surplus soil of jail farm land would have fetched Rs3.01 crore and a huge loss had occurred to the public exchequer

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