- By Kamal Kumar
- Thu, 11 Apr 2024 07:52 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Chandigarh IAS Paris Trip: Three senior IAS officers who went to Paris on an official trip extended their stay from a three-day visit to one week, upgraded their accommodation from a 5-star hotel to an even more luxurious place and after returning to the country, two of them approved the extra cost which was charged to the public exchequer. This revelation on a 2015 trip by three Indian Administrative Officers of the administration of Chandigarh Union Territory came in response to an RTI seeking details of expenditure incurred during the foreign trips of officials, reported the Indian Express.
The report alleged that the three officers -- Vijay Dev, advisor to the Union Territory, Home Secretary Anurag Agarwal and Personnel Secretary Vikram Dev Dutt had the approval of Rs 6.5 Lakh, Rs 5.6 Lakh and Rs 5.7 Lakh respectively for a Paris trip where they were to attend a meeting on Chandigarh designer Le Corbusier’s work on June 15 to June 17, 2015.
But the Indian Express report claimed that the three IAS officers later shifted hotels, and spent over Rs 25 lakh during their stay in Paris from June 12-18, 2015 — almost 40 per cent above the amount originally approved.
The report further said that almost a month after that trip, the UT administration wing, under Personnel Secretary Vikram Dev Dutt, approved the increased expenditure for UT Advisor Vijay Dev, whereas, Dev, in turn, issued orders stating that the additional expenditure incurred for Dutt and Agarwal had been cleared.
The three orders approving the additional costs were said to have stated: “Administrator is pleased to accord revised sanction for the payment…on account of actual expenditure”.
Presently, Vijay Dev serves as the State Election Commissioner of Delhi and Chandigarh; Vikram Dev Dutt holds the position of Chairman and Managing Director at Air India Asset Holding Limited; while Anurag Agarwal fulfils the role of Chief Electoral Officer in Haryana.
Two IAS Officers Respond, One Remains Unreachable
Vikram Dev Dutt, who approved the additional expenditure for Vijay Dev, said that he does not remember the details of the trip.
“I have no ready recollection of the details, maybe it was a delegation led by the Advisor with other officers,” Dutt said as quoted by the Indian Express.
“All the approvals would have been taken by the department concerned from the competent authority, I presume. I don’t remember any files for hotel accommodation, etc., being put up through me… Nothing about accommodation was either routed through me or with my knowledge,” he added after being reminded about the expenditure.
Another officer Anurag Agarwal was quoted by Indian Express as saying: “This meeting was really important to give a push to heritage status for Chandigarh. It was a meeting of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.”
“If you start nitpicking, there can be questions on everything… you (should) look at the intent. We visited some properties designed by Le Corbusier. Also, I remember it was a sad day when we boarded the flight. Nek Chand had passed away and we felt really bad,” Agarwal said after being asked about the extension in the stay.