NEW DELHI, Feb 1: Brushing aside the adverse remarks and gradings by the Haryana Govenment against Sanjeev Chaturvedi, a 2002 batch Hayana IFS cadre, the President of India has restored the gradings awarded by the reviewing authority, clearing the roadblocks in his career.
“The President of India, … Upholds the memorials/representations submitted by Sanjeev Chaturvedi and the orders that for the financial year 2010-11, the grading awarded by the Reviewing Authority (nine points) would be final and the other APAR initiated and recorded by the Accepting authority altogether stands discarded;
“for financial year 2011-12, the grading by the reviewing authority (eight and half points) is to be treated as final grading and all the entries recorded by the Accepting authority including the adverse remarks and grading, are expunged, in totality, with immediate effect,” the order dated January 31 says.
As per the All India Services (Performance appraisal Report) 2007 rules-instruction regarding numerical grading, the grading between 8-10 is rated as outstanding while any grading below 4 is rated as zero.
In the financial year 2010-11, the reporting authority had given 9 out of 10 but the Haryana govt downgraded it to 3.5 with several adverse remarks against the officer, who is known to be a whistle blower.
The same story of downgrading the PAR of the officer from 8.5 to zero was repeated for the financial year 2011-12.
This presidential intervention is the fourth one in that past six years in the career of the officer.
The first intervention took place in January 2008 when President quashed the suspension order issued against the officer by the government of Haryana for his efforts in preventing destruction of a wildfife life sanctuary and preventing illegal expenditure of crores in the name of development of the Herbal Park on a private land belonging an influential politician of the ruling party.
The second intervention took place in January 2011, when the President quashed the major penalty chargesheet issued to the officer by the Haryana government, on the same grounds noting that the officer was chargesheeted for implementing the orders of Supreme court and upholding the law. This chargesheet was deliberately kept pending by the state government to block the career prospects of the officer.
Third intervention came in 2013 when the President quashed the order of enquiry and the major penality chargesheet issued to the officer by the Haryana government in August 2012.
This order noted that charges levelled against the officer were not sustainable and accordingly were ordered to be squashed.
The issue was related to multicrore plantation scam exposed by the officer in Jhajjar distict in which he had suspended 40 field officials from the forest department on charges of fake plantation.
Besides, these four presidential interventions the Central government had also made another intervention in June 2012 to relieve the officer for central deputation as deputy secretary and chief vigilence officer in AIIMS new Delhi, when the state government had refused to relieve him.
Earlier, all the scams exposed by the officer were examined by the CBI and CBC in 2011 and they had recommended CBI investigation but the state government had refused to issue notification for the CBI investigation.
The harassment alleged by the officer, which included 12 transfers in five years and a number of police and departmental cases, enquired by a two member enquiry committee constituted by the Central government in 2010.
The enquiry commitee had also recommended a CBI investigation and had mentioned names of several senior politicians and bureaucrats in the case. (PTI)
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