Gujarat suspends IAS officer for ‘negligence’ leading to financial loss

Oak, a 2011-batch IAS officer, was serving as Valsad Collector since February 2.

Gujarat

Oak is said to have issued an order to register the name of a person as the tenant of a vacant government land worth Rs 2,000 crore. (Deputy)

The Gujarat government on Monday suspended IAS officer Aayush Oak for “grave negligence” which allegedly caused huge financial loss to the state exchequer while handling a matter related to revenue land between June 2021 and February 2024, when he was then the district collector in Surat. Oak allegedly issued an order to register the name of a person as the tenant of a vacant piece of government land worth Rs 2,000 crore.

Oak, a 2011-batch IAS officer, was posted as the Valsad Collector since February 2. According to an order issued by the General Administration Department, he has been suspended with immediate effect. “…disciplinary action is being considered against Aayush Oak… Collector, Valsad, on serious allegations of gross negligence in handling of revenue lands during his tenure as Collector, Surat, which has led to a situation causing huge financial loss to the State exchequer,” the suspension order said.

A senior state government official said the action was taken following an internal investigation by the revenue department.
The suspension was ordered on a complaint by Congress leader Darshan Naik, who accused Oak of overriding the order of his predecessor Rajendra Kumar and ordering on his own initiative to register the name of one Krishnamukhlal Bhagwandas as the tenant of a 217,000 square metre vacant government land in Dumas. The land is estimated to be worth around Rs 2,000 crore. The order came on January 29, two days before he was transferred as Valsad tax collector, Naik said in his May 20 complaint to Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel.

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First uploaded on: 11-06-2024 at 05:34 IST

Oak, a 2011-batch IAS officer, was serving as Valsad Collector since February 2.

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