Delhi- The vigilance minister has been instructed by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to look into possible anomalies in the land acquisition process for the Dwarka expressway. The case also raises the question of whether the chief secretary’s son’s employer benefited from the proceedings. The chief secretary refers to the situation as a “vendetta due to vested interests” and disputes the accusations.

Vigilance Minister Atishi’s office said in a statement on Friday that Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has asked the minister to look into a complaint regarding alleged irregularities in land acquisition for the Dwarka expressway and whether the company that employed Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar’s son benefited in the process. Chief Secretary Kumar described the situation as a “vendetta due to vested interests” and completely denied the accusations.

The minister’s office stated, “The CM has sent the complaint to the minister of vigilance for a detailed inquiry into the matter.” The lawyer who filed the complaint is the one whose identity the government has withheld.

The National Highways Authority of India purchased a 19-acre plot of property in the southwest district in 2018, which is the subject of the complaint. After the owners entered into arbitration, the southwest district magistrate allegedly raised the compensation from ₹41.52 crore, which the then additional district magistrate had imposed, to ₹353.79 crore in May of this year.

Subsequently, the Ministry of Home Affairs brought charges against the DM, Hemant Kumar, when he was moved to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands on October 19. On October 20, he was suspended and the case was forwarded to the Central Bureau of Investigation for further investigation.

Source- Hindustan times