Two IAS officers likely to be questioned by SIT after Aug 15

The Special Investigation Team (SIT)–formed to probe the high-profile NH-74 land acquisition and compensation scam-is likely to interrogate the two IAS officers under its scanner- Pankaj Kumar Pandey and Chandresh Yadav-any day after August 15 regarding their alleged role in the scam. As both the IAS officers are now in Dehradun, the SIT team headed by the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Udham Singh Nagar Sadanand Date would interrogate them in the State capital.

Meanwhile, Pankaj Kumar Pandey who was on leave resumed work at the State secretariat on Friday. He met the secretary home, Anand Vardhan at his office on the day. Though the details of the meeting were not disclosed by either of the officers, speculations are rife that Pandey expressed his annoyance over what he termed as lack of protection from the IAS association on the issue.

It is learnt that Chandresh Yadav has submitted his reply to the additional chief secretary ( ACS) Radha Raturi on the explanation sought by the Government to clear his stand on alleged anomalies detected by the SIT in the process of arbitrations. In his eight-page reply, he is understood to have claimed that no money had been paid to the farmers in all the arbitrations done by him as the case is in the court.

He reportedly argued that the special land acquisition officer (SLAO) had fixed Rs 2700 per sq metre as compensation which had been raised by him in the capacity of the arbitrator to Rs  7500 per sq meter after the new act was enforced.

sHe is learnt to have said that the farmers whose lands were to be acquired had demanded Rs 15000 per sq meter. Yadav is learnt to have further claimed that it was he who had first reported NH-74 scam to then Kumaon commissioner.