Minister Atishi alleges Chief Secretary tried to save official

Delhi Vigilance minister Atishi on Wednesday submitted a supplementary report to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal over a land acquisition deal in the Bamnoli area, claiming that Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar tried to save an official in the matter, government sources said.

In the fresh report, Atishi reiterated her recommendation for suspension of the chief secretary who is due to retire by the end of this month. The report also urges the lieutenant governor to review his position vis-a-vis his refusal to consider an earlier (preliminary) report in the matter, they said.

There was no immediate response from the chief secretary on the supplementary report.

He had earlier denied any wrongdoing and alleged that people with “vested interests” against whom vigilance action was taken for corruption were indulging in “mudslinging”.

The matter pertains to alleged corruption related to a hike in compensation for the acquisition of 19 acres of land in southwest Delhi’s Bamnoli village for construction of the Dwarka expressway by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). In her first (preliminary) report submitted to Kejriwal last week, Atishi had alleged “prima facie complicity” of the chief secretary in the land acquisition matter.

The compensation for the 19-acre land was hiked from Rs 41 crore to Rs 353 crore by former southwest Delhi district magistrate Hemant Kumar, according to the report.

The preliminary report was sent to Lieutenant General V K Saxena by Kejriwal.

The L-G, however, did not consider it, saying it was based on “preconceived assumptions” while pointing out that a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe was already underway in the matter.

Last week, sources in the chief secretary’s office had also rejected the allegations made in the minister’s report and said, “Let the CBI and the ED also investigate such a conspiracy being done by vested interests, including public authorities, to malign him (chief secretary), against whom action has been taken by him, including removal from services/posts, suspension, referring cases to ED, CBI and Delhi Police with approval of the Competent Authorities for investigation.”

In the supplementary report submitted on Wednesday, Atishi alleged that “the chief secretary made all the efforts to save the (former) DM. A paper chase was going on and despite the facts, the district magistrate was not suspended,” sources said.

In the preliminary report, Atishi had alleged that the chief secretary’s son was an employee of a company run by a relative of the landowners benefitted in the Bamnoli land acquisition matter.

The land was acquired for the Dwarka expressway by the NHAI in 2018 and the compensation was increased on May 15 this year. The revised compensation of Rs 353 crore was recently set aside by the Delhi High Court.

With pti inputs