CHANDIGARH: The IAS officer Ashok Khemka is now under fire from the BJP government in Haryana after the State filed a chargesheet against him alleging he had caused losses of about `4 crore to the Haryana Seeds Development Corporation (HSDC).
The State, only in last November, dropped a major penalty chargesheet against Khemka. The chargesheet was filed by the previous Congress government after the IAS officer cancelled the transaction of a 3.5 acre land in Gurugram from Robert Vadra to the real estate firm DLF.
Sources said, according to the chargesheet, when Khemka was the managing director of HSDC from October 2012 to April 2013, 8,700 tonnes of wheat seed worth ` 22.21 crore were left unsold. This caused the corporation to bear a loss of `3.41 crore. He has also been charged with causing a loss of `45 lakh as a result of supplying 3425 tonnes of wheat seed to other states.
Khemka is currently the Principal Secretary to the Government of Haryana, science and technology department. The chargesheet was filed under minor penalty under Rule 10 of All India Services (Appeals and Discipline) Rules.
This is not the first instance of HSDC coming under the State’s scanner. In March 2013 the then agriculture minister, Paramvir Singh questioned its performance from 2008 to 2013. Disciplinary action was already initiated against staff for poor sales.