 "Khemka accuses Haryana govt of victimising him")
Haryana's whistleblower IAS officer Ashok Khemka has accused the state government of victimising him and sitting over his performance appraisal report for the period 2012-2013, the time he acted against land scams and cancelled mutation of the land deal between Robert Vadra and DLF.
In a letter to Haryana Chief Secretary S C Choudhary, Khemka, who had in March sought a central deputation, said the Centre had not included his name in the offer list because of "missing Performance Appraisal Reports (PARs)" for the years 2011-12 and 2012-13 and absence of vigilance clearance by the state government.
"It has come to my knowledge in an application made under RTI Act that my PAR for the period--01.04.2012 to 15.10.2012, has not been appraised," the 1991-batch officer, currently holding the post of Secretary, Haryana Government, Department of Archives, said in the letter yesterday.
"This omission seems to be deliberate to victimise me because the reporting period coincided with actions taken by me against several land scams, including a massive corruption combining land-licensing and land-releases forcing landowner-farmers to undertake distress sale of their farmlands to the builder mafia..," he alleged.
Khemka, who had hit the headlines for cancelling mutation of Vadra's land deal with realty giant DLF in Gurgaon in October 2012, said, "Two quasi-judicial orders made on October 12 and October 15, 2012 concerned companies of a VVIP. Why should I be penalised for wilful omission of the accepting authority to perform his duties to appraise my PAR".
"Several letters were written to your office in this regard, but all were arbitrarily dumped. I should not be victimised further," Khema, who has faced over 40 transfers in his career, said.
The IAS officer also alleged that there is "tremendous witch-hunting and hounding after October 15, 2012 with full political patronage of the present ruling party at the state and the Centre".
Asked about the letter, the Chief Secretary told PTI that it had been written to him only yesterday and "(after going through it)I will have the matter looked into".
In 2013 the state government had charge sheeted Khemka for "wrongly" cancelling mutation of the deal.
In a letter to Haryana Chief Secretary S C Choudhary, Khemka, who had in March sought a central deputation, said the Centre had not included his name in the offer list because of "missing Performance Appraisal Reports (PARs)" for the years 2011-12 and 2012-13 and absence of vigilance clearance by the state government.
"It has come to my knowledge in an application made under RTI Act that my PAR for the period--01.04.2012 to 15.10.2012, has not been appraised," the 1991-batch officer, currently holding the post of Secretary, Haryana Government, Department of Archives, said in the letter yesterday.
"This omission seems to be deliberate to victimise me because the reporting period coincided with actions taken by me against several land scams, including a massive corruption combining land-licensing and land-releases forcing landowner-farmers to undertake distress sale of their farmlands to the builder mafia..," he alleged.
Khemka, who had hit the headlines for cancelling mutation of Vadra's land deal with realty giant DLF in Gurgaon in October 2012, said, "Two quasi-judicial orders made on October 12 and October 15, 2012 concerned companies of a VVIP. Why should I be penalised for wilful omission of the accepting authority to perform his duties to appraise my PAR".
"Several letters were written to your office in this regard, but all were arbitrarily dumped. I should not be victimised further," Khema, who has faced over 40 transfers in his career, said.
The IAS officer also alleged that there is "tremendous witch-hunting and hounding after October 15, 2012 with full political patronage of the present ruling party at the state and the Centre".
Asked about the letter, the Chief Secretary told PTI that it had been written to him only yesterday and "(after going through it)I will have the matter looked into".
In 2013 the state government had charge sheeted Khemka for "wrongly" cancelling mutation of the deal.
You’ve reached your limit of {{free_limit}} free articles this month.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
Already subscribed? Log in
Subscribe to read the full story →*Subscribe to Business Standard digital and get complimentary access to The New York Times
Smart Quarterly
₹900
3 Months
₹300/Month
SAVE 25%
Smart Essential
₹2,700
1 Year
₹225/Month
SAVE 46%
*Complimentary New York Times access for the 2nd year will be given after 12 months
Super Saver
₹3,900
2 Years
₹162/Month
Subscribe
Renews automatically, cancel anytime
Here’s what’s included in our digital subscription plans
Exclusive premium stories online
Over 30 premium stories daily, handpicked by our editors
Complimentary Access to The New York Times
News, Games, Cooking, Audio, Wirecutter & The Athletic
Business Standard Epaper
Digital replica of our daily newspaper — with options to read, save, and share
Curated Newsletters
Insights on markets, finance, politics, tech, and more delivered to your inbox
Market Analysis & Investment Insights
In-depth market analysis & insights with access to The Smart Investor
Archives
Repository of articles and publications dating back to 1997
Ad-free Reading
Uninterrupted reading experience with no advertisements
Seamless Access Across All Devices
Access Business Standard across devices — mobile, tablet, or PC, via web or app
SAVE 25%