Alleged irregularities running into Rs 240 crore in the acquisition of land for national highway 74 were detected in March this year.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat, who had recommended a CBI probe in the multi-crore NH24 scam, appears to be under pressure from the Centre to withdraw the names of NHAI officials from an FIR lodged in this connection.
Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari had written to the Chief Minister last month seeking "corrective measures", saying the case will have an adverse impact on the morale of the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) officials and impede execution of projects.
The NHAI Chairman YS Mallik too recently wrote to Uttarakhand Chief Secretary S Ramaswamy asking him to re-examine the culpability of the NHAI officials and claimed that they had no role in changing the land use or determination of compensation paid to the landowners. He also repeated Gadkari's warning that it would be very difficult to expect NHAI officers to deliver on projects in the state if the situation persists.
The officials named in the FIR approached the Uttarakhand High Court on Tuesday seeking a stay on their arrest. The high court issued notices to the Udham Singh Nager ADM and the private parties whose land had been acquired for construction of the national highway and fixed the matter for next hearing on July 28.
Alleged irregularities running into Rs 240 crore in the acquisition of land for national highway 74 located in Udham Singh Nagar district of Uttarakhand were detected in March this year. Rawat had immediately suspended six officials and recommended a CBI probe into the scam.
However, the Centre has not ordered a CBI probe yet into the scam which took place between 2011-2016, when Congress was in power in the hill state. Farmland was shown as non-agricultural land to increase the compensation amount by at least 20 times to benefit chosen stakeholders and beneficiaries in the scam, it was alleged.
Noting that change of land use or determination of compensation is solely in the domain of revenue officers of the state, Mallik asked Ramaswamy to remove the names of the NHAI officials from the FIR lodged in the matter.
The NHAI chairman has also asked the state government to take legal opinion on the culpability of NHAI officials. "Dragging NHAI officers in such incidents is bound to be counter-productive especially when they have no role in the entire scheme of determination of compensation and disbursement of the same to the landowners," he said, adding "we may find it extremely difficult to post and retain officers in Uttarakhand".
Gadkari had said his ministry will have re-examine the usefulness for taking up more projects in the state. "I am certain that you will appreciate the significance of the issues that I have pointed out and take immediate corrective measures to resolve the impasse," he said in his letter to the Uttarakhand Chief Minister.
However, after a meeting with Gadkari in New Delhi recently, the Chief Minister had said his government's policy of zero tolerance to corruption is intact and the scam will no doubt be probed by the CBI in due course.
The BJP, which came to power in Uttarakhand in March, had made corruption under Congress rule a major issue during the Assembly election.
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