Gujarat Hardlook: Babus under a scanner
The Gujarat government has placed officials on its rolls, who are above 50 years of age, under review as part of its drive to ‘cleanse the system of deadwood’. The move comes even as the Gujarat High Court has been repeatedly pulling up the government for sparing ‘the big fish’ in cases of disasters that caused loss of lives and property.
The move comes even as the Gujarat High Court has been repeatedly pulling up the government for sparing ‘the big fish’ in cases of disasters that caused loss of lives and property. Since the beginning of this year, the Bhupendra Patel government has prematurely retired 13 Class 1 and 2 officers who are between 50-55 years of age, and proposed retirement for nine others who have “failed to perform” or with “doubtful integrity”, said senior officials. The Indian Express looks at some of the officials who have been retired citing a September 29, 2023, government resolution.
S J Pandya, 51
A Class 1 official of the Gujarat Administrative Services (GAS) and posted as deputy director of Sardar Patel Institute of Public Administration that mentors IAS and GAS officials, Pandya was retired on July 5 citing the September 2023 government resolution (GR). This was five months after the Dahod district police arrested him in the bogus government offices scam case, in which funds worth Rs 18.6 crore meant for tribal sub-plan in the district were siphoned.
The notice sent to Pandya listed the Dahod case FIR as well as four chargesheets filed in departmental inquiries initiated against him since 2021. According to the Dahod case FIR, in which a chargesheet has been filed, Pandya was allegedly a signatory in the approvals for 18 of the 100 bogus projects worth Rs 2.78 crore — sent by the fake offices — during his tenure as project administrator from April 2022 to March 2023.
Pandya had succeeded retired IAS officer B D Ninama – also arrested in the case – as the project administrator of Dahod district in April 2022. Ninama had allegedly cleared 82 projects during his tenure.
The Dahod police has booked 15 people in the case, including five government employees. Besides Ninama and Pandya, they are assistant commissioner (Tribal Development) Vishwadeepsinh Gohil, executive engineer Ishwar Kolcha and clerk Girish Patel. All are currently in jail. Pandya could not be reached for a comment.
Pankaj Barot, 55
Barot was serving as the chief officer of Petlad Municipality when he was prematurely retired on July 20 in “public interest”.
A notice signed by deputy secretary (Urban Development and Urban Housing) Manish Shah, citing the Gujarat Civil Services (Pension) Rules, 2002, and September 2023 GR, stated: “He shall be paid an amount equivalent to three months’ salary and allowances, calculated at the same rate he was drawing before the issuance of this notification.” It listed a departmental inquiry of September 9, 2021 and a chargesheet dated May 19, 2023 against him.
Before Petlad, where he was posted this January, Barot was the chief officer of Deesa, Palanpur and Tharad municipalities in Banaskantha. He had also served as the chief officer of Anand Municipality from December 2012 to February 2016, when he was booked under Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, in a case pertaining to the construction of a shopping complex. Barot had appealed in the Gujarat HC seeking quashing of the FIR, stating that it “attributed no role” to him. Barot could not be reached for a comment.
Sanjaykumar Gandhi, 55
Gandhi, who worked as deputy commissioner in the state tax department, has been suspended and posted at Surat headquarters. He was prematurely retired on July 5.
In 2022, the Bhavnagar SGST (State Goods and Services Tax) commissioner had initiated a probe against Gandhi, who was serving as assistant commissioner in Division 2 in Bhavnagar, following a complaint that he had re-activated the GSTN (Goods and Services Tax Number) of the firms caught in a bogus billing scam. By the end of 2022, Gandhi was promoted as deputy commissioner and was transferred to Rajkot, but following the probe, he was suspended and packed off to Surat.
As per a SGST official in Surat, Gandhi faces other allegations of corruption and departmental inquiries against him continue. Gandhi could not be reached for comment.
JJ Pandya, 55
Pandya was posted as superintending engineer at Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Limited (SSNNL), when he was prematurely retired in July, stating that “his behaviour and reputation is such that continuing his services is a danger to public service and damaging to public interest”.
Hired as an executive engineer through the Gujarat Public Service Commission (GPSC) in 1997, Pandya had served as a superintendent engineer (Civil) in Gandhinagar, and faced seven charges, causing “huge financial losses to the government”. The notice on his retirement had said that the inquiry found Pandya lacking in “sincerity and integrity” towards his duties. “Considering the departmental inquiries against Pandya, his conduct and credibility is such that if he is allowed to continue as a public servant, it will be detrimental and dangerous to public interest,” it added.
The order, issued as per the directive from the Narmada, Water Resources, Water Supply and Kalpsar department, became effective from noon on June 21. Till the departmental inquiry against him concludes, he would continue to get wages for three months. Pandya, who served in SSNNL till 2009, was repatriated to the irrigation department after his promotion as superintending engineer and again deputed to SSNNL in 2016. For most part of his 27-year-long service, he was posted in Saurashtra and has overseen development of the canal network of Narmada dam project.
Pandya had earlier rejected the government charges.
Manoj Lokhande, 56
Lokhande, Joint Registrar (Inspection) of cooperative societies was prematurely retired by the agriculture, farmers welfare and cooperation department in June. Lokhande faces several departmental inquiries and a case of anti-corruption bureau, in which he was acquitted. He was ordered to prematurely retire by the government while it cited his “lack of sincerity” and “doubtful integrity”.
Lokhande told The Indian Express that he does not intend to challenge the government order. “I have accepted it and don’t intend to challenge it. In any case, I had only two years of service left,” he said.
HC pulls up govt over failure to curb disasters
The HC has been pulling up the Gujarat government for its failure to contain disasters like the Morbi bridge collapse that killed 135 people in 2022, the Harni Boat capsize in Vadodara that killed 14 in January and the TRP Game Zone fire in Rajkot that killed 27 people in May 25, observing how the big fish were being let go.
During a hearing on the game zone fire on June 13, the court of Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice Pranav Trivedi had remarked on the “inefficiency in the department (urban development and urban housing)”, highlighting that local bodies are not discharging their duties.
“You are sacking the smaller fish in the pond, the big fish who were present in the inaugural function (of TRP Game Zone), where are they? Why have you not tapped them? Why have you not put any responsibility on them,” it had said.
On July 3, nearly six months after the Harni boat capsize killed 12 students and two teachers while they were on a picnic, the HC directed the government to submit a report on the “disciplinary action” initiated against former commissioners of Vadodara Municipal Corporation, H S Patel and Vinod Rao. It gave a “tentative opinion” that “both” Patel and Rao were “guilty of dereliction of duty and misuse of their position” in relation to grant of contract to Kotia Projects for the development of Harni lake.
With the fact-finding committee headed by Principal Secretary (Urban Development) Ashwani Kumar finding “no fault in the process” followed by Patel and Rao, the HC had observed that “it seemed that the committee is trying to cover up the illegality committed in the matter of grant of contract to Kotia Projects”.
So far, the Gujarat government has taken no action against these officials, but it had told the HC on August 2 that one of the steps taken by the government to “set the house in order” was the “review of administrative efficiency of employees in the 50-55 age group and retire them prematurely if found necessary”.
The rules: 1963, 1970, 1987 & 2023
The September 29, 2023 GR, based on which the government is prematurely retiring Class 1 and 2 officials, cites a July 28, 1987 GR that the general administration department amended over the years. The 1987 rule was based on the Bombay Civil Service Rules for premature retirement dated May 15, 1970, which was in turn based on similar rules introduced on October 25, 1963.
‘Premature retirement not a penalty’
The state government guidelines draw from the August 28, 2020 rules issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) of the Centre related to premature retirement and clarify that “premature retirement of government servants under these instructions is not a penalty”. While the 2023 GR reads similar to the 1987 one, the latter had stated that the review committee for the official, who was proposed to be retired, would be chaired by the chief secretary, and have as members the secretaries of the home department and that of the department concerned.
Who can be retired
Government servants “whose integrity is doubtful”, “found to be ineffective” where the basic consideration would be “their fitness/competence to continue in the post held”, says the GR. Also, those who are “not physically and mentally fit for retention in service”.
Scope for appeal
An official who has been prematurely retired by the government can make a representation against the order or notice of premature retirement within three weeks of it being issued. The appropriate authority has to take a decision within eight weeks of receiving the representation.
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IAS officers under scanner
Suspended
Aayush Oak
A 2011-batch IAS officer posted as Valsad collector, Oak was suspended on June 10. He is under probe for overruling the order of his predecessor and awarding tenancy of a 2.17-lakh sq m government-owned barren land in Dumas to a person named Kishanmukhlal Bhagwandas.
He is facing charges of “grave negligence” allegedly causing financial loss to state exchequer in revenue land matter valued at Rs 2,000 crore, during his stint as the Surat collector from June 25, 2021 to February 1, 2024.
The action came in response to a complaint filed before Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on May 20 by Surat Congress leader Darshan Naik, where he accused Oak of setting aside his predecessor Rajendra Kumar’s order and passing a suo motu order to insert Bhagwandas’ name as tenant of the 2.17-lakh sq m land. The order came on January 29, two days before he was transferred as Valsad collector. At present, the revenue department is continuing its probe against Oak.
D S Gadhvi
On August 9, 2023, former Anand collector D S Gadhvi was suspended for “misconduct and moral turpitude”, after objectionable video clips purportedly involving him, taken on a spy camera, became viral. Days later, the Anti Terrorist Squad lodged an FIR against three officials, including Anand resident additional collector Ketki Vyas — who was transferred a day before Gadhvi’s suspension — deputy mamlatdar and revenue officer (Chitnis) to collector Jayesh Patel and Harish Chavda, a lawyer, for allegedly installing a spy camera at the collector’s office to “honeytrap” and blackmail Gadhvi to “clear files for financial benefit”. The Gujarat government suspended Vyas following her arrest in a case.
K Rajesh
He was suspended in 2022 after the CBI booked him for allegedly taking bribes for approving arms licences, allotting government land and regularising encroachment on government land, among other charges.
Based on a complaint forwarded on October 17, 2021, by then additional chief secretary A K Rakesh, alleging serious misconduct by Rajesh, the CBI had initiated a preliminary probe on December 30, 2021, and registered an FIR against Rajesh and Surat-based garments trader Rafiq Memon on May 18, 2022. After arresting Memon, the CBI arrested Rajesh on July 13, 2022, after which he was suspended.
Meanwhile, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) launched a probe against Rajesh under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) for alleged money laundering in his property deals in Surat. Subsequently, ED arrested Rajesh on August 5, 2022. He is currently out on bail in both cases.
As per the CBI FIR, while he was posted as collector and magistrate of Surendranagar from April 11, 2018 to June 22, 2021, Rajesh granted 217 arms licences, 39 of which were given despite the district SP’s “negative opinion”, and sought donations for Sujalam Sufalam Jal Abhiyan initiative of the state government in lieu of granting the applications seeking licences.
Both CBI and ED have filed chargesheets against Rajesh and Memon – who knew Rajesh during his stint as district development officer of Surat – and the cases are at the stage of framing of charges.
Meanwhile, Rajesh had moved HC this January, seeking to quash PMLA proceedings against him. The matter is pending before court.
When contacted, Rajesh said, “The cases against me are motivated. The very fact that not a single order passed by me as Surendranagar collector has been quashed till date proves that they were legal. As far as the ED case is concerned, the big difference in the market value and price mentioned in the sale deed of my Surat properties is common in Gujarat. There is no evidence against me, as I have done no wrong. Truth will prevail eventually and I have full faith in the judiciary.”
Retired
B D Ninama
The case against Ninama, a retired IAS officer accused in the Dahod bogus government office scam case, in which S J Pandya is a co-accused, was unearthed when Chhota Udepur Project Administrator Sachin Kumar raised a query about 12 “pending irrigation proposals” on October 25, last year. The SIT probing the case said the scam had began in Bodeli in 2016 and Rs 21.15 crore was siphoned. Eleven people, including Ninama, were arrested. Ninama took voluntary retirement in the beginning of 2023 and is currently in jail.
S K Langa
After his retirement, four criminal cases were lodged against Langa, IAS officer and former Gandhinagar collector.
The first case was registered against Langa last May in Gandhinagar for allegedly indulging in criminal misconduct as a public servant while causing loss of crores to the state exchequer during his tenure as Gandhinagar collector between April 2018 and September 2019. Among other charges, Langa has been accused of violating rules in granting non-agricultural status to plots in the district. Langa is currently in jail in connection to the case. Two more FIRs were lodged against him in Gandhinagar on similar charges.
Meanwhile, Gujarat Anti Corruption Bureau has registered a case against Langa for having disproportionate assets. He was arrested in this case as well.
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