In A decision that is probably the first of its kind, the Central Government has given the go-ahead to the Maharashtra government to compulsorily retire a bureaucrat from service.After dithering over the proposal for three years, the Centre has finally approved of the state’s proposal to compulsorily retire Ashok Kumar Lal, an IAS officer of the 1980 batch, for his acts of omission and commission when he was Excise Commissioner in 1999. Chief Secretary Ajit Nimbalkar confirmed this decision yesterday.Under the All India Service (Conduct and Appeal) Rules, if disciplinary action has to be taken against an IAS or IPS officer, it requires the permission of the UPSC and the Central Government.Lal is probably the first bureaucrat in the state to be retired compulsorily for rampant irregularities. His pension will now be cut by 30 per cent.While Lal was not available for comment, a General Administration Department official said the notice of compulsory retirement had been served on him at his residence.While the 45-year-old bureaucrat has been compulsorily retired, one more departmental inquiry is pending against him before the Special Inquiry Officer, Principal Secretary, Nand Lal. The probe pertains to charges of irregularities against Lal when he was chief officer, Mumbai Housing Board, prior to his posting as the Excise Commissioner.The main charge against Lal was that in his tenure as Excise Commissioner, he had misused his office and blatantly violated rules while allotting liquor shops or transferring their ownership from one district to another though they were was not in his jurisdiction. Apparently, such orders were passed in nine cases.Following a specific complaint against him in 1999, pending a probe, he was suspended on November 30, 1999. Subsequently, the government had appointed Justice B.V. Chavan, a former judge of the Bombay High Court, to probe the charges against him.When Justice Chavan confirmed the charges, the report was sent to Lal, and subsequently after receipt of his reply, it was forwarded to the Union Public Service Commission and the Central Government with a recommendation for a major penalty. That was in 2001. For a long time, there was no communication from the NDA Government on the state’s proposal.Subsequently, when the state government sent a series of reminders to the Centre, the latter asked for additional information. In fact, in October, the Maharashtra government had given up hopes of a verdict from the Centre. ‘‘We were expecting that Lal would be reinstated since there was no communication from the Centre. Surprisingly, we have received the clearance from the Centre and the same has been forwarded to Lal,’’ the GAD official said.
