Several IAS and PCS officers under Scrutiny of SIT in unlawful appointments and constructions case in Uttarakhand

GG News Bureau
Dehradun, 20th July. IAS and PCS officers are set to come under scrutiny after the SIT was constituted to probe illegal appointments and construction works at SIDCUL in Uttarakhand. It is believed that the scam may also lead to action on the NH 74 land compensation scam. The Trivendra Rawat government had constituted an SIT to probe major irregularities during the Congress tenure from 2012 to March 17 and the fresh SIT probe has created a stir among many senior officers in the case. According to sources, earlier a particular lobby of IAS officers was not in favour of the SIT probe, but it was only after some officers took interest in it that the investigation was cleared for the SIT. In fact, a section of IAS lobby o was not in favour of an IAS officer being questioned by an IPS officer.
It is being termed as the biggest scam which is estimated to the tune of Rs 800 crores after formation of the state of Uttarakhand and it includes illegal appointments and unlawful allotment of plots in SIDCUL. If proved several senior level officers could come in the net of investigations.
Notably the private builders were given lands at concessional rate less than the market price in Sidcul. The then leader of opposition in Ajay Bhatt and Kichcha MLA Rajesh Shukla had also raised the issue in the Legislative Assembly but even then, the Congress government did not take any note.
The officers who served as Managing Director of SIDCUL were Rakesh Sharma from 16-9-2011 to 2-5-2013, R Meenakshi Sundaram from13-11-2013 to 6-2-2014, Shailesh Bagoli 6-2-2014 to 16-7-2014, R Rajesh Kumar 16-7-2014 to 1-11-2017, Saujanya from 1-11-2017 to December 2018, C Ravi Shankar 29-12-18 to present.
During the Congress tenure, the unemployed were also cheated in appointments in the Assembly Secretariat. Then the then Assembly Speaker Govind Singh Kunjwal appointed more than 150 of his favourites just before the election code of conduct came into force. They were kept on a hefty salary from the backdoor without issuing any recruitment notification. The issue also reached the High Court, but no action has been taken so far.
According to the high level sources when CM Trivendra Rawat summoned the files of illegal appointments in Sidcul, he too was shocked and held his forehead for some time. He questioned the appointments and fixation of salaries in the recommended and directed SIT inquiry, treating it as a serious offence.
Two IAS and six PCS officers have already been suspended in the NH 74 land compensation scam in Udhamsingh Nagar during the Trivendra government. Some of them have now been restored, while many have been arrested and sword of action is hanging on some officials.