Chandigarh: There’s whiff of a scandal in the Haryana Chief Minister’s Office (CMO).
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has accused Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar’s former principal officer on special duty (OSD) Neeraj Daftuar of transferring land worth crores to his family at throwaway prices, while working in the CMO. This, the AAP has alleged, was done to hide his “black money”.
Khattar has said he is seized of the matter, and has summoned records from the departments concerned to look into the allegations.
Daftuar, who is described by Haryana civil servants as having been the most powerful officer in the CMO, worked as principal OSD to Khattar from 2016 to 2022 (October), when he suddenly resigned.
His resignation only came to light once he vacated his official residence in Chandigarh. It was said at the time that he was shifting base to Delhi to work for the 2024 parliamentary elections.
ThePrint reached Daftuar for comment through phone calls as well as WhatsApp but hadn’t received a response by the time of publishing this report.
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What the ex-CMO official is accused of
The allegations against Daftuar were made by AAP leader Anurag Dhanda at a press conference in Chandigarh Friday.
They centred on a company called ANA Real Logistics LLP, which Dhanda said was “formed overnight” on 24 February 2022, with its directors identified as Siddharth Lamba and Ashish Chandna.
On 24 March, he added, the company purchased 9 acres of land at Khalikpur village of Badli tehsil in Jhajjar district from Model Economic Township Limited (MET), run by a private company.
While the market value of the land was about Rs 45 crore, the firm got it for Rs 2.73 crore, Dhanda said, adding that ANA Real Logistics then applied for a change in land use (CLU) certificate in the Town and Country Planning Department on 15 April. The CLU — from agriculture to warehouse — was issued in just 12 working days, he added.
On 2 May, just two days before the CLU was received, Dhanda alleged that ANA Real Logistics was sold to Daftuar’s family, his wife Anupam Daftuar and son Aditya Daftuar, “for just Rs 75 lakh”.
ThePrint has accessed the purported documents pertaining to the transfers of the land and the company.
Contacted by ThePrint Monday, Dhanda alleged that this was a clear case of bribe paid in the form of a land deal.
From day one, Dhanda said, ANA Real Logistics belonged to Neeraj Daftuar, and the initials “stand for Anupam, Neeraj and Aditya”.
“A written complaint in this regard was sent by a complainant to Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on 13 May. But, so far, there seems to be no action on the complaint,” the AAP leader said. “We are waiting for action. Otherwise, activists of the AAP will ask Khattar questions during his next Jansamvad programme [the CM’s public outreach initiative].”
He also demanded an inquiry by the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate into the matter.
All CLUs issued during Daftuar’s tenure should be probed, he said.
‘Close confidant of Khattar’
Daftuar’s Linkedin profile still says that he is working as principal OSD to Haryana CM, assisting him “on matters relating to governance” and serving “as a key link between the bureaucracy and the elected representatives”.
“Alongside, I have spearheaded the media and communication aspect of the flagship schemes and programs of the state government,” he adds.
He describes himself as an “entrepreneur, a communication professional & a strategist” with “almost three decades of rich experience in strategic planning, project management, monitoring & evaluation, and communication solutions & consulting”.
The profile says he is a postgraduate in history from Delhi University and an awardee of the UGC’s Junior Research Scholarship.
Daftuar was considered a close confidant of Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar.
“Daftuar was the most powerful officer in the CMO. For the Information and Public Relations Department, in particular, his word used to be the last word,” said a former civil servant requesting anonymity.
Speaking to media persons at Haryana Niwas in Chandigarh Sunday, Khattar said he was aware of the AAP’s allegations.
The CM said he would examine the truthfulness of the allegations, and reiterated his commitment to zero tolerance for corruption.
(Edited by Sunanda Ranjan)