Not What He Preached

PROPELLED to power on the promise of clean governance, Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal is finding it difficult to practice what he preached. Barely a fortnight after he announced an award of Rs 50,000 for information against corrupt officials, he was straining every nerve to protect three senior bureaucrats facing serious allegations of graft and abuse of power. So it was with considerable relish that Congressmen suggested former chief minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal get Badal's award—after all, it was she who sanctioned the CBI probes against the three controversial officers—Chief Secretary R.S. Mann, Principal Secretary to the chief minister Bikramjit "BJ" Singh and Housing Secretary I.S. Bindra.

The appointment of R.S. Mann and BJ (superseding more senior officers) to top bureaucratic posts in the state following the Akali takeover came as no surprise—both are close to Badal. And while Bindra is hardly a Badal favourite, he is a long-time friend of R.S. Mann. Likewise, Badal's attempt to scuttle the CBI probes—ordered by Bhat-tal on polling day (February 6)—against the officers had been anticipated. But the CBI refused to back off. BJ's palatial residence was raided and an FIR registered against him for having accumulated "assets disproportionate to his income". Mann and Bindra were accused of irregularities in the allotment of land and funds for Bindra's pet project, the Mohali cricket stadium.

Three rounds of correspondence have already been exchanged between the CBI and the state government (read Mann), with the latter threatening legal action against the investigating agency if it doesn't accept the government's order rescinding permission for the CBI probes. The government, claims Advocate General G.S. Grewal, can withdraw permission under Section 21 of the General Clauses Act. But the CBI maintains the investigation cannot be aborted.

The situation is unprecedented: the state vigilance officer has asked the three bureaucrats not to cooperate with the CBI (which has been denied access to documents) and the government has moved the chief judicial magistrate's court pleading that the CBI investigations be stopped. But even though he is under government orders not to cooperate with the agency, BJ is being interrogated by the CBI, since he is on interim bail and must cooperate as a condition of bail.

The government, meanwhile, has found a scapegoat in former chief secretary V.K. Khanna and is trying to project the CBI probe as an outcome of intra-service rivalry between the Khanna and Mann groups in the IAS. Sources say Mann and Khanna had a showdown in the latter's office on whether the investigations against the three officers should be handed over to the CBI in January, after which Khanna decided to recommend the CBI probe.

Despite the state's lack of cooperation, the CBI has compiled considerable data on BJ, based on various vigilance inquiries against him. When BJ joined the IAS in 1973, says a CBI official, his declared assets were "a Lambretta scooter, an old refrigerator and Rs 3,400 in cash". Two decades later, he occupies a four-canal house in Chandigarh's posh sector 9B, purchased for Rs 9 lakh but renovated, according to a tentative CBI estimate, for Rs 45 lakh.

CBI sources said BJ's wealth increased exponentially after his wife received (with permission from Badal, then chief minister) a two-canal plot in sector 33 as a gift from one Brigadier B.S. Sandhu (retd) in 1979. BJ paid a gift tax of Rs 80,000 and built on the property with a housing loan. Today it commands a modest rental of Rs 16,000 from a bank.

Sandhu surfaced again in 1982 when BJ's father (a former sub-inspector who retired as an assistant excise officer) set up a firm, Akal Solvex, currently run by BJ's brother, Capt. M.P. Singh. It was inaugurated by Badal and Sandhu is one of its directors.

In 1984, BJ became part-owner of a shop-cum-office (SCO) in sector 35, purchased from Congress MP Vishwajit Prithvijit Singh for Rs 9 lakh. The property is occupied by a bank, and the rent is deposited in an account operated by BJ. In 1988, another SCO was purchased, this time in the premium sector 8. BJ owns a quarter-share in the property but operates the account in which the rent is deposited. CBI sources said the sector 9 "palace" is in the name of BJ's mother to whom he pays a monthly rental of Rs 2,000. The family acquired another unit, Joshi Solvex, in Ferozepur. Rumour has it that the family also controls another unit, Amritsar Solvex. BJ's family has four cars, including a Cielo and an Esteem.

The CBI has also taken note of video cassettes of three lavish parties thrown by BJ when he was contesting the Chandigarh Golf Club elections in 1993 and is looking at the quantum of diamond jewellery owned by his wife. The vigilance case against BJ was still pending when the CBI stepped in, thus "demoralising" the state vigilance department, claims Grewal.

The CBI is finding it more difficult to investigate charges against Mann and Bindra, having no access to the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) records. It was in 1991 that Mann, who was then chairman of the Punjab Housing Development Board (PHDB), allocated 13.5 acres of land in Mohali to the sports department for a facility (not necessarily a cricket stadium), at a nominal cost of Rs 100 per acre. The sports wing was then headed by Bindra, who promptly transferred the land to PCA, of which he was president. The PCA allegedly unauthorisedly occupies more land than was allotted.

MONEY for the Mohali cricket stadium was solicited from the government in various stages—it was to give 40 per cent and the rest was to come from the PCA. About Rs 4.5 crore was a loan from the government to the PHDB, which was to pass it on to PCA. But since it was PHDB which had to repay the loan, it protested, saying that the amount be converted either into a grant or an interest-free loan. There was no response from the government.

As for the PCA share of funds, they were raised through advertisements, donations by Punjab PSUs and industrialists. Since Bindra was then secretary, industries, there were allegations of abuse of power. Money allegedly also came from officials who are presidents of local cricket associations.

That PCA office-bearers were treating the Mohali complex as their personal fiefdom became evident in 1995, when PCA secretary M.P. Pandove proposed a lease deed. So far there was no such agreement in the interest of expediting the project. The deed proposed that PHDB (now Punjab Urban Development Authority (PUDA)) become co-owner of the stadium by paying an additional Rs 3.5 crore for construction costs, subject to the proviso that it transfer all its rights to PCA. The lessor (PUDA) would have no control over the complex, while the lessee (PCA) could do what it pleased—mortgage, sub-let or transfer the land.

The PCA "shall be in exclusive possession of the entire property and shall have full and absolute right, discretion and authority to use the property in any manner it may deem fit...without any let or hindrance from the lessor.... (The lessor) shall have no right, powers or authority to interfere in the use, occupation or the mode of enjoyment of the building". Disputes between the lessor and lessee were to be referred to the sole arbitration of the PCA president—Bindra.

PUDA officials, who stood by their board's decision that funding to PCA should be subject to "the issues relating to ownership/co-ownership of the stadium being decided to the mutual interest", refused to clear the lease deed and were transferred as soon as Badal took over. The new housing secretary and PUDA chief—who would decide on the fate of the lease deed—were none other than Bindra and the PCA vice-president.

Differences between the PHDB and PCA had also cropped up in 1993 when Mann decided to let the latter build a club, funded up to 80 per cent by PUDA. While the PCA felt it should be assured of complete control, PUDA wanted a say in membership, tariffs and a presence on the board.

In the current dispute, Mann is being seen as a victim of his proximity to Bindra. As for Badal, rumour has it that family pressure has apparently compelled him to protect the officers. And pressure from the BJP has already led Badal to appoint another controversial figure, N.S. Vasant, as energy advisor. If Badal continues to live up to his reputation for crumbling under pressure, his anti-corruption drive will have few takers.