‘Land-grabbing’ by IAS echoes in Council

LUCKNOW: The issue of alleged land-grabbing by IAS officer Harish Chandra dominated the proceedings of the Vidhan Parishad on Wednesday with the opposition party legislators and even some from the ruling party demanding that the bureaucrat be summoned to the House. They also called for the setting up of an all-party committee to look into the alleged case of land-grabbing by Chandra.
The issue was raised through a breach of privilege notice by Samajwadi Party legislators Vijay Singh Rana, Bhagwati Singh and Ram Asrey Vishwakarma, who demanded that the senior IAS officer be summoned to the bar of the House to receive reprimand for violating its dignity and supremacy.
Speaking on the issue, Rana said a memorandum had been submitted to Governor Vishnukant Shastri on May 10. On May 20, the matter was raised in the House with the Chair directing that it be probed by a member of the Revenue Board. The Chair had also directed that statement on the findings be given in the House. Rana regretted that despite such clear directives, no action had been taken by the government or the department concerned. He stressed the inaction had lowered the dignity of the House, which could not be taken lightly.
Similar views were expressed by senior SP leader Ram Saran Das, Bhagwati Singh and Ram Asrey Vishwakarma, who said since the inquiry was to be conducted against an IAS officer by another bureaucrat, the inaction was deliberate. Om Prakash Sharma of the teachers group called for the setting up of an all-party committee to look into the entire matter.
Speaking on the issue, leader of the House Swami Ram Maurya said he would ensure that the inquiry into the entire matter be conducted by a Board of Revenue officer during the current session. Acting chairman Manvendra Singh directed that a statement on the inquiry be placed in the House on August 20.
The arrest of the district inspector of school on the directives of the district magistrate Aligarh on August 13 was raised by the teachers group. Om Prakash Sharma, Panchanan Rai and others spoke on the issue. The Chair directed that the entire matter be probed by the commissioner and the findings placed before the House.