The IAS Officer Who Blew the Whistle on Vadra's DLF Deal - Ashok Khemka

Ashok Khemka widely known as 'Haryana's most shoved about civil servant' was the one who blew the whistle on Vadra’s DLF deal. 

Khemka the IIT topper hails from a middle class family where his father Shanker Lal Khemka worked as an accountant in the Alliance Jute Mill. This down to earth man has preferred staying in a two bedroom apartment with his family in Chandigarh, despite the allotment of a big bungalow after being promoted to higher rank. He has gone through many ups and downs including warning phone calls soon after he stepped into the Vadra-DLF transaction on October 14th. 

 47-year-old, Khemka says "We (civil servants) are all part of the sarkar. Prime Ministers and chief ministers are not our masters but jan sevaks (public servants) like the rest of us. But we begin treating these people like kings and queens who must be followed unquestioningly," Besides, the Khemka family gets no security in spite of threats, and P.K. Chaudhary, the Chief Secretary of Haryana ignored the whole security issue requested by Khemka for his family. 

Ashok was shifted from his position as head of Haryana's land registration department on October 11 for blowing the whistle on the relationship between Robert Vadra and realty chief DLF, who had the support of politicians and civil servants in Haryana. His transfer orders were hand delivered by a dispatch clerk. This was just three days after the officer hunted a list of Vadra's land deals in Gurgaon, Mewat, Faridabad, and Palwal, the districts that were highlighted in the news. Ashok directed deputy commissioners in the four districts to assemble a list of documents registered by Vadra or on his behalf, starting from January, 2005. 

Soon Ashok established how Vadra-owned Skylight Hospitality bought a 3.53 acre plot from farmers of Shikhopur village in February 2008. Skylight had paid 7.5 crore for this plot. Vadra's company was then granted change of land use (CLU) licence to use 2.7 acres of the agricultural plot for residential housing in just about a month in March, 2008. Less than four months later Vadra resold the property to DLF Universal for Rs 58 crore. Khemka says the only value Vadra's companies added to the land were the CLU licence, which led to a six-fold increase in the value of the land. 

 Soon Khemka's interest was put out by media reports that said other Vadra-owned firms Skylight Realty, Blue Breeze Trading, Real Earth Estates, Artex and North India IT Parks were following a similar technique. Agricultural land was being bought, the land use converted and then resold to real estate companies. However, the enquiry led to his transfer, the 43rd in his 21-year service term. But 'punishment postings' are nothing new to Khemka. He was then posted into the land consolidation, records and registration department in July this year. 

 On October 15 he fired his last round as Haryana's Director General Consolidation of Holdings and Land Records-cum-Inspector General of Registration. An official clarification the next day described his order as irregular, since neither party was given the opportunity to put forward their case. Khemka says "The government knows mutation can be done afresh by a competent revenue officer," 

The above is from my Silicon India.
I normally categorize all my posts so that one can go back to them at a later date. This post has been put under the category of "Great Men". If you notice the P K Chaudhary, the Chief Secretary has denied Ashok Khemka any security in spite of the threats he has received. I suppose he, the CM of Hooda, Robert Vadra and the DLF management plus the entire Congress party must be wishing the Ashok Khemka is murdered. If anything does happen to him, P K Chaudhary should be tried for abetting attempted murder, if not murder.