Chief secretary urges action against special secretary for allowing illegal use of property

CHANDIGARH: Punjab chief secretary Karan Avtar Singh has recommended to chief minister Amarinder Singh to chargesheet IAS officer Mohinder Pal Arora for allegedly allowing a former IAS officer illegal use of residential property for commercial purpose in Patiala.
Arora, a 2004-batch IAS officer, was posted as Patiala municipal commissioner in 2007-08.Arora allegedly illegally allowed another bureaucrat and former Patiala divisional commissioner S K Ahluwalia permission to raise commercial construction in residential areas on the YPS road.
Arora is now posted as special secretary in the higher education department. When contacted, he told TOI, “The case is very old. I don’t exactly remember it. No one has asked me for comments. I will respond if they issue me the chargesheet.” It is learnt the local bodies department had sent Arora’s case for disciplinary action.
On the directions of then chief minister Parkash Singh Badal, then chief secretary Ramesh Inder Singh had in December 2008 ordered immediate stoppage of illegal construction on Ahluwalia’s plot. Ahluwalia had already completed construction of four commercial floors on the plot meant for residential purpose. Ahluwalia retired from the service in October 2008.
The state government has already started disciplinary proceedings against Arora in around Rs 2.38 crore gunny bag purchase scam during the previous SAD-BJP government rule between 2012 and 2014, when he was posted as managing director of Sugarfed. The audit had found that Sugarfed ignored Union government’s directions for purchasing 40% jute bags and 60% woven plastic bags and bought 100% jute bags in lakhs, which were much costlier that plastic bags.
When Sugarfed had floated tenders in 2013-14, gunny bag cost Rs 38 and the woven plastic bag Rs 21. “Had Sugarfed purchased at least 50% of its requirement in plastic bags, it could have saved Rs 2.18 crore,” the auditors noted. They further added that private sugar mills were already using plastic packing material.
On this case, Arora said, “Tenders were floated after the decision of the finance committee, in which other officers were also members.” He added that gunny bags containing sugar fetch higher rate as compared to plastic bag.