By Shishir Prashant 
PrashantNews
In what is seen as one of the biggest actions against corruption since the formation of Uttarakhand, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Tuesday ordered suspension of two IAS officers along with eight others in the Haridwar land scam.
“A total of 10 officers, including two IAS officers have been suspended so far in this case,” an official statement said on Tuesday. Besides, the jobs of two government officers, who were given extension, have also been terminated, the statement said.
Significantly, the CM’s move against corruption came a day after state Congress vice president Suryakant Dhasmana demanded immediate action in the land scam saying the party would resort to protest demonstrations if no action was taken. The prashantnews.com also carried the land scam story on Monday.
After questions were raised on the purchase of 2.3070 hectares of land located near the garbage dump in Gram Sarai by the Haridwar Municipal Corporation (HMC) for Rs 54 crore when its original cost was only Rs 15 crore, the Chief Minister Dhami had ordered an inquiry into the matter.
Ranveer Singh Chauhan, an IAS officer, conducted a preliminary investigation in the matter and submitted the report to the government on May 29. The inquiry report found that the cost of the land was artificially raised by changing its land-use from agriculture to commercial.
On the basis of this investigation report, the Chief Minister ordered immediate action against the guilty officers.
Following the instructions of the Chief Minister, the department of personnel on Tuesday suspended the then administrator of Haridwar Municipal Corporation and current DM Karmendra Singh, the then Municipal Commissioner Varun Chaudhary, the then SDM of Haridwar Ajayveer Singh, Senior Finance Officer Nikita Bisht, Senior Personal Assistant Vicky, Registrar Kanungo Rajesh Kumar, Chief Administrative Officer of Haridwar Tehsil Kamaldas.
Karmendra Singh – District Magistrate and then Administrator, Haridwar Municipal Corporation (Suspended).
Commenting on the issue, the Chief Minister made it clear that his government wants to develop a new work culture in the state which is corruption-free. “Our government has made it clear from the very first day that in public service, accountability is important. No matter how senior a person is, if he disregards public interest and rules, action is certain. We want to develop a new corruption-free work culture in Uttarakhand. All public servants will have to live up to its standards,” Chief Minister Dhami said.
Varun Chaudhary – then Municipal Commissioner, Haridwar Municipal Corporation (Suspended)
Ajayveer Singh – then, Sub-District Magistrate, Haridwar (Suspended)
Nikita Bisht – Senior Finance Officer, Haridwar Municipal Corporation (Suspended)
Vicky – Senior Personal Assistant (Suspended)
Rajesh Kumar – Registrar Kanungo, Tehsil Haridwar (Suspended)
Kamaldas – Chief Administrative Officer, Tehsil Haridwar (Suspended)
(Action taken in the past)
Ravindra Kumar Dayal – In-charge Assistant Municipal Commissioner (Service Terminated)
Anand Singh Mishravan – In-charge Executive Engineer (Suspended)
Laxmi Kant Bhatt – Tax and Revenue Superintendent (Suspended)
Dinesh Chandra Kandpal – Junior Engineer (Suspended)
Vedpal – Property Clerk (Service Extension Terminated)