Uttarakhand CM Dhami Suspends Seven More Officers, Including Two IAS And One PCS, In Haridwar Land Scam, Total Suspensions Rise To 10

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Tuesday (3 June) ordered the suspension of seven officers, including two IAS and one PCS officer, in connection with the Haridwar Municipal Corporation land scam.

Three officers have already been suspended in this case, while the service of two has already been terminated.

This latest action takes the total number of officers suspended in the case to ten.

The scam centres around the purchase of 2.3070 hectares of unsuitable land near a garbage dump in Sarai Village by the Haridwar Municipal Corporation for Rs 54 crores. which was originally reportedly valued at just Rs 14 crore.

After the questionable deal raised eyebrows, CM Dhami ordered a probe, which was conducted by Secretary Ranveer Singh Chauhan.

The comprehensive 100 page report submitted on 29 May, implicated 12 officers, including the two IAS officers and one PCS officer who were suspended.

Based on the report, the Chief Minister instructed the Personnel Department to take strict disciplinary action.

Acting on this directive, the Personnel and Vigilance Department suspended seven officials: then Municipal Corporation Administrator and current District Magistrate Karmendra Singh, then Municipal Commissioner Varun Chaudhary, then Haridwar SDM Ajayveer Singh, Senior Finance Officer Nikita Bisht, Senior Personal Assistant Vicky, Registrar Kanungo Rajesh Kumar, and Haridwar Tehsil’s Chief Administrative Officer Kamaldas.

CM Dhami reiterated his administration's "zero-tolerance" stance on corruption, stating it in a post on X, “Our government has made it clear from the very first day that in public service, not the 'post' but 'duty' and 'responsibility' are important. No matter how senior a person is, if he disregards public interest and rules, action is certain."

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