Uttar Pradesh govt terminates senior PCS officer over Noida land scam charges

Lucknow ( Raghwendra Pratap Singh) :

The Uttar Pradesh government has terminated the services of senior PCS officer Harish Chandra, a 1997-batch officer, over corruption charges linked to an alleged land scam during his tenure at the Noida Development Authority.

Chandra, currently on deputation to West Bengal as the local representative of the Food and Logistics Department, was accused of having a direct role in the Rs 4,000-crore land scam when he was posted at the Noida Development Authority in 2011-12.

The departmental inquiry found that Chandra had allocated land beyond the permitted limit under a scheme to benefit private parties. Disciplinary proceedings against him had been underway since 2013, and his promotion to the IAS was also stalled during the inquiry.

Chandra was the secretary of the Noida Authority in 2011-12. According to sources, he was accused of arranging the leaseback of around 3.81 lakh square metres of land in Shahdara village in violation of rules. The land was located around Sectors 140A, 141, 142 and 143.

Under the rules, the leaseback facility could be granted only to eligible villagers, with a maximum limit of 450 square metres per family. The inquiry alleged that large plots were also leased back to outsiders and private companies.

According to the investigation, the market value of the land was around Rs 3,800 crore. Departmental action was initiated against Chandra in September 2013 and a chargesheet was filed in 2014. The inquiry alleged violations of rules in the land survey and leaseback process during his tenure.