Senior IAS officer and whistle-blower, Ashok Khemka, who has been chargesheeted by Haryana Government in connection with cancellation of land deal of Rs 57 crore between Robert Vadra, son-in-law of Congress President Sonia Gandhi and reality giant DlF in October 2012, few days back, may not get relief from his new boss, Chief Secretary SC Choudhary.
“Action will be taken against officials who are found guilty,” he said when asked whether the State Government will take action.
Khemka has been held liable for alleged administrative misconduct for overstepping jurisdiction in passing orders to cancel the mutation of 3.5 acre land in Gurgaon’s Shikohpur village in 2012. The land was sold by Vadra to DlF.
After being transferred on October 11, 2012, from the post of Director General Consolidation of Holdings (DGH) and Inspector General Registration, Khemka had ordered an inquiry into the alleged undervaluation of assets owned by Vadra or his companies in Gurgaon, Faridabad, Palwal and Mewat and set aside the mutation of the 3.5 acre land. The Haryana Government’s committee, set up to probe Khemka’s orders, had later found these to be inappropriate and without jurisdiction.
However, Khemka, in his more than 100 pages reply to the State Government had claimed that Vadra “falsified documents” and executed a series of fake transactions for 3.53 acres land in Shikohpur village of Gurgaon and pocketed a large premium on a commercial colony license through money that he could account for. Khemka, when transferred from Revenue department in year 2012, was posted as MD in HSDC from July 18, 2012 to March 4, 2013, had found irregularities in the supply of wheat seeds to Haryana Seed Development Corporation (HSDC) by NAFED and NCCF.
He had given a report to CBI seeking registration of a case against officials of National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation (NCCF) and National Agriculture Cooperative Marketing Federation (NAFED) for
selling seeds at inflated prices to HSDC causing loss to
the exchequer.
The Government also served a second chargesheet to him that related to his tenure as the Managing Director of a State-run agricultural firm, he was transferred from HSDC to Archives department as the Director General of Archives in Chandigarh. When asked specifically about Khemka and his future, the new chief secretary, said he is yet to go through the files and can take a decision only after going through it.