More Haryana babus prefer to conceal than reveal their assets

Indian Express: Chandigarh: Monday, November 19, 2012.

There seems to be enough to conceal when it comes to revealing the details of Haryana IAS officers’ assets details of the Haryana babus.

Sample this: Only 16 out of the 167 Haryana cadre IAS officers - state has a sanctioned strength of 200 - agreed to provide their property details in response to an RTI query by The Indian Express. Incidentally, none of the senior bureaucrats, and those who enjoy proximity to the current Bhupinder Singh Hooda dispensation, agreed to give details of their properties when asked

Charity does not seem to begin at home in Haryana. Hence neither Chief Secretary Pradeep Kumar Chaudhery nor any other officer posted in chief minister’s office (CMO) office agreed to give details of their assets. No wonder, there are certain officers posted in the CMO who keep talking about “their honesty and being upright”. Right from Hooda’s principal secretary Chhatar Singh, additional principal secretaries Krishan Kumar Khandelwal and Shivraman Gaur to his deputy principal secretary Ranbir Singh Doon, all names are missing in the list. Director, Public Relations, Anand Mohan Sharan too didn’t provide the details of his property. Also, no officer who had or is facing criminal charges or is under trial came forward to share the property details.

The state government asked all the IAS officers for their consent to forward their property details. Those who agreed and provided their property details included Anita Chaudhary, Praveen Kumar Jain, TC Gupta, Avtar Singh, TVSN Prasad, Mahavir Singh, Arun Kumar, V Umashankar, Balbir Singh Malik, CR rana, Rajbir Singh, Ashok Sangwan, CG Rajini Kaanthan, Atul Kumar and DK Behera.

Interestingly, three of them - Deputy Commissioner, Rewari CG Rajinikaanthan, Praveen Kumar Jain and Atul Kumar - wrote ‘nil’ against their property details.

Among others, Anita Chaudhary is on central deputation and is posted as secretary (land resources) in the Rural Development department. She owns a flat (Rs 24 lakh) and jointly owns (with her spouse) another - presently valued at Rs 1.17 crore - in Gurgaon.

TC Gupta, Director Town and Country Planning owns a 1.5 kanal-plot in Sector 45 (Gurgaon) valued at Rs 45,65,431. He got the plot under government quota through a draw of lots conducted by the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) in 2000. He and his wife jointly own a flat - valued at Rs 34,36,038 - that he got through allotment under the Haryana Employees Welfare. He is yet to take the possession of the flat. Gupta owns ground floor of a house at Gautam Nagar, Delhi, for which he paid Rs 13,00,000 (additional Rs 78,000 as stamp duty). He is also a member of the Punjab IAS-PCS Officers Cooperative House Building Society in Mohali and has already paid Rs 27,37,706 for a plot, which is yet to be allotted.

Avtar Singh, Director, Technical Education, owns a 400 sq mtr plot in sector 23/23 A, Gurgaon, allotted by the HUDA at the collector rate of Rs 25,000 per sq mtr. TVSN Prasad has taken membership of Punjab Officers Cooperative House Building Society for a plot of 500 sq yards in Mullanpur, which is yet to be allotted. Mahavir Singh has two flats, one each in Shikhar Apartments and DLF Valley valued Rs 1.10 crore and Rs 60 lakh. The first flat was allotted to him by the Haryana Officers Cooperative Group Housing Society, Panchkula, while he purchased the other from the DLF but is yet to get its possession.

Arun Kumar has been allotted a 14-marla plot by HUDA in Gurgaon, which is valued at Rs 3 crore. His another flat is situated in sector 51, Chandigarh, allotted by the Chandigarh Housing Board through draw of lots and is valued at Rs 60 lakh. He got another flat valuing Rs 32 lakh in a housing scheme at Mohali through draw of lots. V Umashankar has got one flat allotted in The Hermitage Cooperative Housing Society, Gurgaon, valued at Rs 77.67 lakh for which he took advance from his Provident Fund, spent from his savings, took loan from Haryana Government besides raising a loan of Rs 45 lakh from bank. BS Malik has no house but owns land worth Rs 5-6 lakh in Bhiwani.

CR Rana has 21 acres of agriculture land worth Rs 1.25 crore in Hisar, a flat in Shikhar Apartments in Panchkula worth Rs 60 lakh, an SCF in Hisar worth Rs 40 lakh and a flat in The Hermitage Coop House Building Society in Gurgaon worth Rs 76 lakh.

Rajbir Singh has agriculture land in Jind besides a flat in The Hermitage Coop House Building Society in Gurgaon worth Rs 82.44 lakh. Ashok Sangwan has a flat in Shikhar Apartments, Panchkula, presently valued at Rs 60 lakh. He has another flat in the name of his wife at Gurgaon, which is valued at Rs 25.67 lakh.