Senior IAS officer challenges Haryana govt’s land acquisition,release policy

In a letter to the state Chief Secretary P K Chaudhry,Khemka said that he be relieved of his charges as land collector and LAO,as he will not be able to “play to the tunes” of such mandarins.

The Bhupinder Singh Hooda-led Haryana government has been at the receiving end of endless criticism for rampant corruption in the acquisition of land benefiting private players at the cost of farmers. Several benches of the Supreme Court and the Punjab and Haryana High Court have taken the government to task for its pick and choose policy in releasing acquired land.

A 1991 batch officer,Khemka has been a commissioner and secretary to the government since January,2007. However,despite his seniority,he was virtually demoted several notches and transferred to a much lower rank,non-cadre post of special collector (HQ) and special land acquisition officer on July 18.

Khemka was unceremoniously shifted out as Hartron MD where he was posted for barely 50 days. According to sources,in Hartron,Khemka had objected to the Department of Electronics and Information Technology having employed consultants who were being paid crores as remuneration from out of public funds.

Khemka had questioned the consultants on the services they had rendered to the department since their appointment to justify their bloated incomes,added sources. The consultants reportedly went crying to their appointing authority,who was “instrumental” in getting Khemka out of the way.

Alleging victimisation,Khemka has in his letter to Chaudhry stated that he has been “shunted down” on a far lower rank than he is entitled to,as vested interests in the IT department were “bent to humiliate” him. Khemka,said sources,has demanded that the concerned officer responsible for the “humiliating transfer order against the lower rank,non-cadre post causing unnecessary embarrassment to the state government be suitably reprimanded and warned”. As the parting shot,Khemka has added that the chief secretary should also bring the “incompetent malfeasance” that led to his transfer orders to the notice of the chief minister.

Other than embarrassment to the state government,Khemka’s posting has also led to an administratively and legally anomalous situation. As special collector,one can appeal against Khemka’s decisions in surplus land cases under the Haryana ceiling on Land Holdings Act-1972 to the divisional commissioners,who are are all junior to Khemka by several years.

They belong to 1992,1993 and 1994 batches — all promoted from the HCS. Sources said Khemka has written to the chief secretary pointing out this piquant situation as well.