#dnaEdit: Reprisal or transfer?

Despite a change of guard in Haryana, that sinking feeling of history repeating is playing out again in the case of IAS officer Ashok Khemka. His 45th transfer, this time from the Transport department to the Archaeology and Museums department, is without doubt a punishment posting. This is revealed by Khemka himself who took to Twitter terming the moment as “truly painful” and that he had “tried hard to address corruption and bring reforms in Transport, despite severe limitations and entrenched interests”. His tough stances on denying fitness certificates to over-sized trucks and trailers had upset the powerful transporter lobby. Within the state government itself, there appear to be differing views. While the official line termed it a routine transfer, one minister has publicly backed Khemka. However, “routine transfers” are rarely done in just 128 days of an officer taking up the posting and, seldom, to utterly lightweight departments like Archaeology and Museums, which have little bearing on the government’s day-to-day functioning. Attempts are being made to point out that Khemka has been rewarded with a promotion this time, but this contention has hardly enthused the aggrieved officer who pointed out that the director-general posting is assigned to those with 16 years service, while he has put in 24 years in the Haryana cadre.

Khemka shot into prominence as the whistle-blowing bureaucrat against Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s son-in-law Robert Vadra and the Haryana Congress government. At that time, state BJP leaders were enthusiastic supporters of the officer. Khemka’s exposés provided a potent electoral weapon with Prime Minister Narendra Modi also raising Vadra’s alleged misdeeds. Posted as Director-General of Land Consolidation and Records and Inspector-General of Registration, Khemka ordered an inquiry into alleged undervaluation of Mr Vadra’s land deals and then cancelled the mutation of a 3.5 acre land deal between Skylight Hospitality and realty major DLF Universal. The Hooda government responded with vengeance, filing a charge sheet against him for administrative misconduct and for overstepping his jurisdiction. Subsequently, another charge sheet was foisted against Khemka holding him responsible for the alleged low sale of wheat seeds during a four-month tenure at the Haryana Seeds Development Corporation. Last week, the Comptroller and Auditor General endorsed Khemka’s actions noting that undue favours were showered on Vadra that cost the Haryana government Rs42 crore. 

Even as the state government contemplates the nature of the inquiry to be initiated against Vadra based on the CAG report, it is surprising that neither the state nor the Centre has moved to quash the charge sheets against Khemka. The precedent of Sanjay Chaturvedi, a whistle-blowing Indian Forest Service officer, who was victimised by Hooda, before the charge sheet against him was quashed by former PM Manmohan Singh and repatriated to Delhi, exists. Interestingly, Chaturvedi ran foul of the Union health ministry for probing corruption allegations at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences. The rules governing All India Service officers promise them a minimum tenure of two years but it appears that these do not apply to Khemka. The political control of the bureaucracy is important but transfers should be used to punish errant officers and reward efficient ones. It is no one’s case that Khemka’s actions did not uphold public interest. His latest mistake was to ensure road safety through rules that inconvenienced the industry. Few bureaucrats like Khemka show the courage to publicly contradict government stances. This could even be construed as a violation of  service rules and discipline, but then rules should apply to everyone. After years of Congress and INLD rule, the Haryana BJP, long out of reckoning, stormed to power because the people craved for an alternative. Khemka deserves an explanation and a better deal.