The chief minister’s office has received a complaint alleging corruption against Delhi chief secretary Naresh Kumar, which has now been forwarded to the vigilance minister. Kumar has been accused of manipulating a land acquisition deal so as to ensure an undue benefit of more than Rs 300 crore to a company that employs his son. The original sale price of the land in question was Rs 41.52 crore, as decided by the then administration.
While the identity of the complainant has been kept secret, according to a report published by NDTV, sources said it is a lawyer. Chief minister and AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal marked the complaint, received by the Delhi government in October, to vigilance minister Atishi and sought a detailed report on it with facts. Naresh Kumar, meanwhile, dubbed the complaint as an act of “mudslinging”.
“The disgruntled elements against whom vigilance action was taken are undertaking such mudslinging,” the chief secretary told PTI. He added that proactive action, including initiating a CBI probe, was ensured against the officer concerned.
The vigilance minister’s office said in a statement that the allegation against the chief secretary was that he “benefitted his son’s company by Rs 315 crore”. The complaint has been sent to the vigilance minister for a detailed inquiry, it added.
A 19-acre land at Bamnoli village in southwest Delhi was acquired by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) for the construction of Dwarka Expressway in 2018 and an initial award of Rs 41.52 crore was decided by the district authorities. The landowners had challenged the compensation and, finally, it was raised to Rs 353.79 crore by Southwest Delhi district magistrate Hemant Kumar in May.
Hemant Kumar, however, was later suspended by the ministry of home affairs in the matter. Also, the Delhi High Court recently set aside the award of Rs 353.79 crore.
The complainant has alleged that the chief secretary’s son Karan worked in a realty firm, a director of which was the son-in-law of Subhash Chand Kathuria — one of the owners of the land acquired in Bamnoli village. The award was raised to Rs 353.79 crore on May 15, and that this amount was manipulated by Naresh Kumar, as per the complaint.
Government officials said divisional commissioner Ashwani Kumar on June 2 flagged the matter to the chief secretary, who directed him to monitor the matter on a fortnightly basis and, later,also asked the Directorate of Vigilance to probe it. Further, with the approval of lieutenant governor VK Saxena, a CBI probe and departmental action against the district magistrate were recommended to the home ministry on September 20.
(With PTI inputs)
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