Dainik Nation News Portal
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has accepted the state government’s request to probe NH-74 land scam. While addressing mediapersons at Vidhan Sabha yesterday Chief Minister TS Rawat said, “An approval has been given by the CBI, now the file will be sent to the Department of Personnel and Training (DOPT) for initiating the process.”
Meanwhile, the state agency will continue its investigation, he said. The CM recommended the probe after suspension of officials. Even after two reminders, the central agency seemed reluctant to take up the case.
Announcing this, Rawat, on the sidelines of the ongoing budget session in the state assembly, said, “Right from the very first day, we had been very clear in our stand and we remained unmoved. The state government is focused on weeding out any kind of wrongdoing from the system in line with our policy on zero tolerance of corruption. I am happy that we played a positive role in the entire matter, and the CBI inquiry will take things forward.”
The demand for a CBI probe in the case — which pertains to alleged irregularities in acquiring land in Udham Singh Nagar district to widen the 300-km Haridwar-Bareilly national highway — had been made by Rawat on March 25 soon after taking over as chief minister. Last month, a letter dated April 5 had surfaced, written by Gadkari and addressed to the CM, in which the union minister warned the state government that a CBI probe into the alleged scam “would have an adverse impact on the morale of National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) officers” and his ministry would have to “re-examine the usefulness for taking up more projects in the state”.
