UP-cadre IAS officer B. Chandrakala has often been in focus for cracking down on corrupt and negligent govt officials, but has now been booked by CBI herself.
Lucknow: On a winter morning four years ago, the district magistrate of Bulandshahr reached a road construction site to find bad quality bricks being used.
Irked by the lackadaisical attitude of the local municipal officials, she threatened to lodge an FIR against them on the grounds of corruption, alleging that public money was being wasted. A video clip of the incident had gone viral.
Fast forward to the present, and the same IAS officer, B. Chandrakala, has been booked by the Central Bureau of Investigation on charges of corruption in an illegal mining case.
CBI sleuths Saturday conducted raids in parts of Uttar Pradesh and Delhi, including two residences of Chandrakala, and is believed to have seized documents. The 2008-batch Uttar Pradesh cadre IAS officer is alleged to have allowed illegal mining of minerals and violated the e-tender systems in giving mining contracts between 2012 and 2016 in Hamirpur district, where she was posted as DM.
Career profile
Chandrakala belongs to a family from the Banjara tribe, with roots in Garjanapally, Andhra Pradesh. Her father retired as a senior technician in the Fertiliser Corporation of India in Ramagundam, Andhra Pradesh.
She is a graduate in geography from Hyderabad’s Osmania University and a post-graduate in economics.
Before cracking the civil services exam in 2008, when she bagged the 409th position, Chandrakala had topped the Andhra Pradesh Group I examinations for the state’s public service commission.
Her IAS career began in what was then Allahabad, where she was posted first as a joint magistrate, and then as Chief Development Officer.
From April 2012 to March 2017, Chandrakala served as magistrate in five districts of UP, with Hamirpur being her first such posting, between 2012 and 2014.
Also read: How Jharkhand can get the right IAS officers to turnaround like Chhattisgarh
Working style
The viral 2014 video from the road construction site in Bulandshahr is considered a sample of Chandrakala’s reputed working style. As her postings changed from one district to another, what did not seem to change was her low tolerance for corruption and negligence.
In at least three more instances captured on camera during her tenure in Bulandshahr, Chandrakala displayed her anger at negligence and corruption by government officials. From issuing show-cause notices for a dirty stadium, to reprimanding civic officials over a sewer line project, to the construction of a pavement, she publicly threatened to book officials in a police case if public work was not done honestly.
Also in Bulandshahr, Chandrakala filed a police complaint against a man who allegedly took a ‘selfie’ with her without asking her permission.
In 2016, after being transferred to Meerut, Chandrakala reached a government school to conduct an inspection. She entered a classroom and posed questions to students about their coursework, only to be met with silence. With the students unable to show proof of learning, Chandrakala turned to the teacher who tried to explain that there was a shortage of teachers.
“Who does not have problems? Only those people talk about problems who do not want to do anything… Their (students’) entire future is dependent on you,” she was heard telling the teacher in another video.
Opposition from BJP leaders
Chandrakala’s toughness had met with opposition from local BJP leaders in Meerut. In the run-up to the 2017 state assembly elections, BJP leaders had written to the Election Commission, demanding her transfer on allegations that she was siding with the Samajwadi Party-led UP government.
Once the BJP came to power in the state under Yogi Adityanath, Chandrakala was deputed to the central government. Given her impressive work as the DM of Bijnor, making the district open defecation-free, Chandrakala was posted as an under-secretary in the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation for nearly a year.
In March 2018, however, she was brought back to her home cadre as special secretary in the secondary education department.
What CBI’s FIR states
How did an IAS officer known for her zero-tolerance policy against corruption end up being booked on charges of corruption?
The CBI, which took over the probe into the Hamirpur illegal mining case on the directions of the Allahabad High Court, says in its FIR that government servants, including Chandrakala, were “in criminal conspiracy with each other”.
They “illegally granted fresh leases, renewed existing leases and permitted obstructed period to the existing lease holders, without following the e-tendering procedure as mentioned in government of Uttar Pradesh order dated 31.05.2012 upheld by Allahabad High Court dated 20.05.2013”, the FIR said.
Also read: Midnight orders and hurried transfers: Where Modi govt is going wrong with IAS officers
In stead of making speculative surmises, why doesn’t the author of this article visit the districts where this lady served as District Magistrate and find out from her subordinates how honest she was. My information is that she is an unimaginably corrupt officer.
Prof PK Sharma, Freelance Journalist, Barnala(Punjab)
Ms.B.Chandrakala is a victim of witch hunting and infact being made a scapegoat to target Mr. Akhilesh Yadav, the former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh at the hands of ruling party at the centre !
The timing of this CBI action very evidently bears testimony to this fact ! The coinciding of the finalisation of SP-BSP alliance in the
Uttar Pradesh for 2019 Lok Sabha Polls and CBI action obviously offers ample room and scope for this doubt ! The question is why this action at this point of time ? Without going into the merits and demerits pertaining to the integrity of the bureaucrat in question why the CBI and other authorities concerned slept over the matter? The alleged malfunctioning and malpractices of the bureaucrat would not have sprung up overnight !
Objectively speaking, the way in which our system works especially under the NaMo regime these days, fair can turn foul and foul can turn fair instantly !
Is it not indeed mindboggling a question that CBI can nowadays implicate honest as well as corrupt people alike may be in any walk of life ? It is so because in NaMo regime when the credibility and integrity of Number One, Number Two and Number Three…….. is under cloud and scanner then any thing can be deemed fair and anything can be termed foul in the twinkling of an eye ! There is nothing hard and fast, honest and dishonest- it is only the perception !
The fact cannot be denied that pliable CBI will constantly have to be on its toes responding to His Master’s Voice promptly when called upon to do so !
Till Lok Sabha Polls more CBI melodramas cannot be ruled out !
Prof PK Sharma, Freelance Journalist
Pom Anm Nest,Barnala(Punjab)
Modi can go to any extent to harass any body to oppose his corruption and evil rule. He uses cbi it Ed to snub political opposition and honest officials god save India
I support chandrakala.
Somebody is taking revenge against her
Retd. IAS officers had spoken in favour of Mr Gupta, an ex-secretary when he was arrested recently in connection with the coal scam. They said he was known to be an upright officer. Similarly, the present serving IAS officers — if they too believe that Ms Chandrakala is an honest officer and possibly being implicated wrongly — must raise their voice against this injustice. They should not allow pawn agencies like CBI to “slaughter” their honest colleagues at the calling of some politicians.
It is sad that under the present BJP rule things have come to such a pass — that very senior officers are being forced to protest!
ईमानदार वही है जिसे बेईमानी का मौका नहीं मिलता।
और जो जितना बड़ा घूसखोर है हमारा समाज उसे उतना सक्षम मानता है
Let investigation take place,your article says she is from humble background. How she accumulated property worth more than 160 crore. We have seen drama of honesty by Arvin Kejriwal . His real intent came out soon. It is sad that article is biased.
Please be impartial in future.
Every such case get comments on predictable lines
1-opposition says that the officer is being punished for honesty because he is not serving the interests of the ruling party.
2-the ruling party says that it will not tolerate dishonest officers .
Unfortunately this blame game continues in news papers and tv and noone is ready to wait for the court judgement.
I often wonder why everyone is in so much hurry to issue certificates of honesty(or dishonesty) to concerned person .let the court decide the outcome
They say that she even hired a professional agency to build up her image in social media. It appears all that we saw was merely a creative of that agency.
I personally would still go with the action of the investigation agency.
I totally agree with Satish. She is tough in videos and very cooperative to contractors in documents clearly shows she is corrupt. A true honest officer will be very polite in speech but tough on documents. And very corrupt officers are just reverse.
There is difference between the public stunt and honestly…
The CBI booked her for a reason..
We don’t need this type of feminism..
Yet another example of the inside war between the I.A.S. officers on one side and the I.P.S. officers and the politicians on the other side to muzzle down the I.A.S.cadre as the No.2 (or 3) in governance of this country.
She has hired a image building agency. Can she pay from her salary,just think information.
I know her since she was posted as DM Mathura and then DM Bijnor. She just crave for media limelight otherwise she’s the most corrupt officer I have seen. Administration suffered a lot under her tenure and I am pretty sure this time it’s 100% correct allegations against her.
She is a typical babu who used to sense opportunity to make good bucks in civil contracts. Had see been really honest how she could amass so much of property in just 12 years. There are civil servants who find it diffucult to buy even a flat and this honest (media hyped) civil servant owns multiple proprties ???? really interesting. CBI is finally doing something good after coming out of its cage..
No doubt,she has performed her duties with full devotion and honesty and her style of functioning for the welfare of common people may not have Been liked by some politicians of ruling party and thus she has been made a victim of a well planned conspiracy and she will definitely be found innocent on a fair and impartial Inquiry in the matter
The print is only speaks against bjp govt. Why anyone will believe your article? What evidence you have to prove her innocence?
Being favourable to SP itself is a proof of being dishonest.
Also when The print is writing for you, it is must that the story is only against BJP.
To go to a site and start speaking abusively to the man on the spot for instant discovery of irregularity is hardly a professional vway for a district officer more so if he/she allows it to go viral in present days of social media. This is nothing but playing to gallery to comouflage one’s own deeds of corruption. This has got proved in number of cases of IAS IPS officers that those who go for anti encroachment or anti goonda drives and use media to gain popularity for that use it for hedging some other deeds of benefitting himself.
A sound bureaucrat is supposed to work anonymously as many great and upright officers have done in past and their names are legendry within beaurocratic circles. They are supposed to bring about systemic improvements to ensure that irregularities are pretty. Thus for ensuring civil works quality one needs to checj how the established procedure of inspection and quality control is working, and carry out review monitoring and super inspections . What would be of interest to see in this case is whether Chandralekha followed up her bullying with setting up inquiry and disciplinary action in the matter or just let it go after it became viral. The latter could mean that she did such things to make the departmental seniors fall in line with her.
Very sensible comment devoid of hysteria which often grips supporters or the dissenters of govt. actions
I agree with this…
Quite often, it is difficult for officers to resist the temptation to get quick popularity by resorting to public rants against corruption…
Actual work for rooting out corruption in public works requires much more work and doing it behind the scenes not only requires persistent hardwork which many times may not be appreciated or taken note by own bosses, but will not give them the popularity and clean image in a short time…
Absolutely correct .Her ways of functioning clearly points towards her doubtful intents. Can not agree more
जो अफसर एक्स्ट्रा स्ट्रिक्ट और होशियार बनते है वो कुछ ज्यादा ही करप्ट निकलते हैं । ईमानदार बनने का ढोंग करते है।
What if the CBI case is a foisted one by powers that be to subdue her enthusiasm. It is not possible for a person whose credentials are for zero tolerance for corruption and tardiness to suddenly change her nature to become “extremely” corrupt. If her older stories are true, then the needle of suspicion is on UP Government and or the other corrupt officialdom to get her trapped. Honest officers are truly the rarest of the rare commodity in this country.
Why would a “honest” IAS officer engage a PR company for her social media publicity?
This article is a Perfect example of, how to mend facts and portray an accused as a Victim.
From nowhere she can be said to be honest . It is a biased article.
Totally insult of democracy.. A very loyal and honest officer lady has to face this type of humiliating booking by CBI…. This is an conspiracy of politicians who whose her working style
I doubt that she is on wrong side.. one can’t ignore the possibility of political involvement in encircling her. I give her benefits of doubt and wish she come out waving flags. I wish her good luck.
It is very surprising that the press start praising an officer without any creditable evidence .Her image was not good but press were praising her style of working.It is the normal thing that a dishonest officer start checking the quality of civil work like this to make pressure on construction agency to get money from that agency .If she was honest then after that visit what type of action she has taken against that contractor will give the clear picture of her honesty.
Don’t u think something is fishy? If a person is hated by ruling party and also is unbreakable, then it’s easy to make a fake case and book her. The MP amd MLA of our country are charged for so heinous crimes that it is not comparable with her’s(if I assume it’s true)
Agree. 100%
…पर जो भी हो, हमारे देश में केवल आईएएस और राजनीतिज्ञ ही ईमानदार होते हैं…