Months after Khemka flagged Rs 180-cr ‘loss’, Haryana travel card scheme under lens

A free travel card scheme in Haryana, launched under former Chief Minister ML Khattar, is now a major concern for the government. Transport Minister Anil Vij has asked Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini to order an investigation, months after then Additional Chief Secretary of the Transport Department Ashok Khemka flagged several “irregularities” in the scheme.

The allegations centre on the Haryana Antyodaya Parivar Parivahan Yojana (HAPPY) card scheme, launched in March 2024. The scheme offers free travel up to 1,000 km per year to families with an annual income of up to Rs 1 lakh, covering an estimated 84 lakh people.

In December 2024, Khemka found the project had been approved “without competitive bidding” and pegged the potential loss at Rs 180 crore due to an “opaque process” in awarding the contract. On December 19, he wrote on file that the Transport Minister or Chief Minister “may take a decision regarding the fixing of INR 159.30 per card”.

This cost per card was related to the state Transport Department’s approval from former CM Khattar in February 2024 to pay Mumbai-based firm Aurionpro Rs 159.30 per card after the first 10 lakh free cards. The firm was guaranteed 50 lakh cards. Annual maintenance charges were set at Rs 79.06 per card from the second year onwards, while beneficiaries paid only Rs 50 for their first card.

Khemka’s file noting calculated that for the minimum guarantee of 50 lakh cards, the first-stage issuance would cost Rs 63.72 crore (excluding the first 10 lakh free cards), with annual maintenance charges of Rs 39.53 crore from the second year. He pointed out that little service was required for the cards, making the maintenance fee prohibitive and “ought not be paid”. The cost of the initial 10 lakh free cards was included in the firm’s quoted price.

Principal Secretary to the CM (PSCM) Arun Gupta then wrote that the “CM has desired” comments from officers involved in fixing the rate without competitive bidding.

On April 1, Khemka again flagged the issue. He said, “The huge recurring expenditure could not have been approved without inviting competitive bids from other RBI-authorised banks. In my view, the CMO should have overruled the proposal.”

He also pointed out that, strangely, the then CM’s approval was taken twice and the project was rolled out within 19 days after the card’s cost was approved.

Khemka noted that the market rate of the card was much lower as Himachal Pradesh operated the NCMC card of the SBI at Rs 100 inclusive of GST and there were no maintenance charges.

He called for then PSCM V Umashankar to explain whether the former CM was properly briefed on the true market cost before granting approval on February 8 and February 28, 2024.

He added, “A single wrong act has led to wrongful losses of an estimated INR 180 crore” and that the “true nature of the scam would unravel after receiving Umashankar’s reply through the Cabinet Secretary”.

Vij wrote on the file, “This is a very serious matter which requires a thorough inquiry to uncover at what level such major irregularities were executed.” He suggested an inquiry panel headed by ACS Home Sumita Misra, along with IAS and IPS officers, to determine if due process was followed in the allocation of the work. He also called for a report within a month.

Khemka retired on April 30, 2025. IAS officer TL Satyaprakash took over as the Commissioner and Secretary of the Transport Department on May 8. On May 14, PSCM Arun Gupta wrote that the CM (Nayab Singh Saini) desired Satyaprakash to examine the issue thoroughly before any fact-finding inquiry by an outside officer. The issue was also raised in a Cabinet meeting.

Four months later, Satyaprakash was shifted and ACS Raja Sekhar Vundru took over the Transport Department on September 6. When contacted, Vundru said, “I joined 48 hours ago. I am not aware of the issue.”

Meanwhile, on August 4, Vij again raised the issue, stating that after seeking comments from the Commissioner and Secretary of the Transport Department, no conclusive findings or recommendations had been made regarding Khemka’s concerns. He sought information on officers who represented the Transport Department in discussions to finalise the card’s cost and requested minutes of the meeting. He also asked if the issue was ever placed before the Council of Ministers and, if so, a copy of the proceedings should be provided.

The production of new cards is currently on hold. When contacted, Khemka refused to comment.