‘Mukhyamantri ka saala’ is a story of growth in Chhattisgarh

In his 50s, Sanjay Singh is a distant cousin of Raman Singh’s wife Veena — linked through a common aunt. But in the 11 years of Raman Singh’s government, that has been close enough.

When Raman took over in December 2003, Sanjay Singh was a Class III employee with the Tourism Department. Then, within years, he got two promotions — as deputy general manager, and then general manager, both of which were subsequently held illegal. He has been deputed as Transport joint commissioner, been indicted in more than one corruption case, and faces probe on other charges.

Recently, Pradesh Congress chief Bhupesh Baghel had the House in splits when he described Sanjay Singh as a symbol of the arbitrary benefits accorded to relatives of Raman Singh: “Joru ka bhai ek taraf, sari khudai ek taraf (What’s the universe compared to the brother of your wife?).”

Another Congress MLA, Kawasi Lakhma, advised Raman, “Ek kahaavat hai — gaaon mein laala, khet mein naala aur ghar mein saala paalna theek nahin (There is a saying — it’s not good to nurture a trader in the village, a drain on farmland, and a brother-in-law at home).”

Sanjay Singh denies allegations of having obtained undue benefits. But the Chief Minister himself addresses the accusations differently.
Asked why Sanjay Singh continued to obtain illegal benefits from the government, Raman Singh’s office told The Indian Express in a statement, “The Chief Minister’s office completely distances itself from Sanjay Singh. If he has done anything wrong, appropriate action will be taken against him by his department.”

Former Tourism deputy general manager M G Srivastava, who led a probe against Sanjay Singh, is categorical: “He (Sanjay) obtained all benefits fraudulently by virtue of being a relative of the CM.” Srivastava retired as DGM while Sanjay Singh raced to GM despite being far junior.

Dizzying career graph: Class III employee Sanjay was made Tourism DGM in 2005, less than two years after Raman took over as CM. In three years, he was GM, a post reserved for Scheduled Tribes. He also entered a higher payscale in 2005. After employees complained, the revision of his pay was declared illegal, and orders were issued to recover the incremental salary from him. This was in 2008; Sanjay is yet to pay.

After a long probe, in 2013, the department also cancelled the promotion as GM, saying it was “illegal”, “made in back date, violated rules and was intended to favour a particular individual”. Sanjay went to the High Court and obtained a stay on the cancellation.

Later, in November 2013, the Tourism Secretary rejected the DGM promotion as well, noting that “there is no provision of direct promotion to Class I from Class III”.

Says a senior Tourism officer, “This is probably the only instance when a Class III employee became a GM in three years.”

Despite his entire career growth having been deemed illegal, Sanjay, who still holds the post of GM, says, “It is the government’s prerogative to promote an employee.”

There were other alleged irregularities. In 2009, the Transport Minister issued an order signed by Raman Singh to appoint Sanjay Singh as joint commissioner, Transport. Despite the fact that Sanjay was facing inquiries in financial matters, the deputation was confirmed without the approval of the Tourism Department.

Senior officers were unhappy, and on February 16, 2010, the Chhattisgarh Paryatan Mandal MD while issuing the transfer order, added that “the Transport Department has obtained services of Sanjay Singh without departmental permission, he can be brought back to the parent department only after the approval of the Tourism Department”.

The MD also put a strict caveat, that “Sanjay Singh will be forced to cooperate with departmental inquiries or any other action against him” regarding “financial irregularities” and “pending payments”.

Financial irregularities: In 2008, the Tourism Department initiated a preliminary inquiry following a CAG report over financial irregularities of Rs 6.37 crore in Sanjay’s division. In May 2009, the Chhattisgarh Paryatan Mandal MD issued him a showcause notice following the “order of Tourism Secretary”.

It pointed out that the inquiry had found “extremely objectionable lapses”. “Gift items and mementos such as paintings, handicrafts etc were also purchased in large quantities. Receipts and issues were not recorded.”

The MD noted, “You often printed promotional material, claimed that they were sent to various institutions and offices, but in a physical verification, the publication-promotional material worth Rs 6.37 crore was not found in store houses under your control.

“Considering this, why don’t we recover this amount from your salary?” the MD said, asking Sanjay to “respond within seven days else the department will take one-sided action”.

After he failed to reply to the show-cause notice, the MD sent him a reminder on July 31, 2009. That too went unanswered. In December 2011, the Tourism Department sent a reminder to the MD on the status of the departmental proceedings. This was followed by letters in June 2013 and July 2014 by the Tourism Secretary to the MD, asking for an immediate status report.

Sanjay Singh claims he has “always” replied to these notices. “Still they send me (notices) regularly. What can I do?” Department officers, however, insist that he has never replied to any notice.

Bribery charges: In October 2012, an employee at the Kanker transport office wrote a letter to K D P Rao, who then headed the Tourism Department, about the illegal activities of “Mukhyamantri ka saala Sanjay Singh”. The letter gave details of instances when Sanjay Singh was posted in the Transport Department, and allegedly “took money in the name of CM House”. It alleged that Sanjay was running a racket, manipulating transfers, and causing financial losses to the government.

In April 2013, the office of then tourism secretary wrote a letter to the Transport Commissioner — with the subject “Mukhyamantri ke saale Sanjay Singh ka naya kaarnama” — and asked him to conduct a probe and submit a report immediately. The report is yet to be submitted.

“This complaint was made with mala fide intentions. I committed no wrong,” Sanjay Singh says.

Foreign trips: Sanjay Singh is accused of travelling abroad on government expense without obtaining mandatory approvals. He was issued a show-cause notice in February 2006, and the department found his reply “unsatisfactory”. In April 2006, the General Administration Department issued him a “strict warning” that he should not travel abroad without permission in future.

In June 2013, the MD of Chhattisgarh Paryatan Mandal wrote to him saying he had made several foreign trips without permission, and was hence required to deposit Rs 18.72 lakh. A recovery order was also issued, but Sanjay is yet to pay.

“I went abroad with the Tourism Board,” Sanjay says. “It was their responsibility to take permission for foreign travel. If they did not take permission, how can I be held responsible?” The department rejects this argument.