Sunday, May 11, 2014

Honest Officer Like Khemka Has To Face Dismissal

Now, Ashok Khemka faces threat of dismissal-Times of India 12.05.2014
CHANDIGARH: Whistleblower IAS officer Ashok Khemka could be dismissed from service if the Haryana government accepts adverse remarks against him by his superiors in his latest performance appraisal report. 

Sources said that not only have Khemka's bosses proposed a rating of just five out of 10 for the period between October 15, 2012 and March 31, 2013 for him, the report terms his integrity as "doubtful". During this period, Khemka was managing director of Haryana Seeds Development Corporation (HSDC). 

Khemka has been at the receiving end of the Haryana government after he exposed alleged shady land deals involving Congress chief Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law, Robert Vadra. 

Integrity in doubt 

Sources quoted the PAR saying Khemka "does not hold a good integrity". Punjab and Haryana Bar Association ex-president Kulbir Singh Dhaliwal said comments related to "doubtful integrity" could lead to an officer's dismissal. 

The adverse remarks in his PAR may also affect Khemka's prospects for central deputation as well even though he secured outstanding ranking in his appraisals during the past five years (2007-08 to 2011-12). 

The government had not assessed his PAR for six months in 2012 when he had exposed Vadra's land deals in Gurgaon. 

Haryana chief secretary SC Choudhary said the government would examine Khemka's papers when asked about his central deputation. "We are not against the deputation of any officer. It is good that an officer of the state contributes to the central government." He claimed Khemka's PAR has not been finalized and said "the question of his appraisal being spoilt does not arise". 

Khemka had written to Choudhary on Thursday and urged him that an average of the grades he earned in previous years may be taken as the assessed grade of his latest PAR. 

He said the PAR ratings were not disclosed to him even though the limit for it was January 15 as per the rules. Khemka had submitted his self-appraisal for this period but the government has chosen to "file (close) it". 

He wrote he had taken action against a scam in the purchase of seeds and a fungicide during his tenure as HSDC chief. The CBI has carried out a preliminary inquiry on his complaint regarding the misappropriation of central subsidies. Khemka has alleged a senior agriculture department officer is complicit in the scam.
Link times of India
Victimized for exposing Vadra’s deals: Khemka-TOI -09.05.2014
CHANDIGARH: Haryana's whistle-blower IAS officer Ashok Khemka on Thursday accused chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda's government of trying to tarnish his professional record because he exposed Robert Vadra's murky land deals. His performance appraisal report (PAR) for the period when he cancelled the mutation of the land deal between Vadra and DLF in 2012 is not being assessed.

On Thursday, Khemka shot off a letter to the Haryana chief secretary S C Choudhary complaining that the Centre had not included his name in the offer list for central deputation because of "missing" PAR and in the absence of vigilance clearance by the state. The 1991-batch officer is currently holding charge of secretary, Haryana archives department.

Keen on central deputation, Khemka had made a formal request to the chief secretary on March 15, which was recently forwarded to the Centre by the state government. Sources said Haryana have not sent Khemka's PARs for 2011-12 and 2012-13 to the Centre yet apart from not granting vigilance clearance for his deputation.

In his communication to the CS, Khemka has detailed how he got outstanding grading from 2007-08 to 2011-12, but his performance was not even assessed for about six months (April 1, 2012 to October 15, 2012), which includes the period of his action in the Vadra-DLF deal.

"This omission seems to be deliberate to victimize me because the reporting period coincided with the actions taken by me against several land scams, including massive corruption combining land-licensing and land-releases forcing landowner/farmers to undertake distress sale of their farmland to the builder mafia," mentioned the bureaucrat, who has faced 44 transfers in his career of 22 years.

"Two quasi-judicial orders made on October 12 and October 15, 2012 concerned the companies of a VVIP. Why should I be penalized? Several letters were written to your office in this regard, but all were arbitrarily dumped. I should not be victimized further," Khemka wrote to the chief secretary.

Khemka has also alleged that his PAR for the period (October 15, 2012 to March 31, 2013) is being retained illegally with malafide intentions in the chief secretary's office "under the instructions of the political executive."

According to the officer, the outer time limit for PAR disclosure was January 15, 2014, but it had not been disclosed to him till date. "There is tremendous witch-hunting and hounding after October 15, 2012 with full political patronage of the present ruling party at the state and the Centre. I cannot be tormented and penalized by the deliberate and willful acts of malfeasance of the authorities. Till this date, I am not informed officially of any inquiry against me, though there are several media stories about false cases being foisted upon me to meeting political ends," alleged Khemka in the letter.

When contacted for comments, chief secretary Choudhary said that he was not aware of Khemka's the PAR issue.

Link times Of India

No comments: