Delhi govt backs PWD Minister

Sends detailed report to Ministry of Home Affairs about his alleged involvement in protecting a resort in a tax evasion case

The Tivoli Garden tax evasion issue has come back to haunt PWD minister Raj Kumar Chauhan. But the city government in its report has backed the minister. Delhi government has sent a detailed report to the Ministry of Home Affairs about the minister's alleged involvement in protecting the resort in a tax evasion case for which the Lokayukta has recommended his removal from office.


PWD minister Raj Kumar Chauhan.

The Home Ministry late last month had directed the city administration to file its response in the matter. The government's response comes nearly two months after Lokayukta Justice Manmohan Sarin had recommended to President Pratibha Patil to "withdraw her pleasure" for the minister to continue in office as he "misused" his official position and indicted him for misconduct of "grave nature".

'No evidence'
Sources in Delhi government said that in its letter the government has stated that the charges against the minister are not based on hard evidence but near conjectural. If there is any harassment (of the officer concerned) as was mentioned in the Lokayukta order, there was no evidence supporting the same. However, sources said the government has admitted that Raj Kumar Chauhan had made a call for few seconds. But the raiding team was not recalled from the spot.

"The elected representatives have a right make a phone call, which should not be taken away from them. If complainant (who approached the minister) is found wrong, the officer concerned has right to say yes or no," the government has reportedly told MHA in its letter.u00a0

Action expected
Now, the decision on Chauhan's fate lies with the President, who has three months time to take action. The communication from the Home Ministry, officials said, is part of the decision making process by the President which is expected to be completed by the end of May.

Justice Sarin's order in late February had come in a case pertaining to Chauhan's alleged involvement in influencing a team of tax officials when they were carrying out a survey in Tivoli Garden resort in south Delhi in February last year.

The opposition BJP has been pressing for Chauhan's removal since issuance of the order by the Lokayukta and had even targeted Chief Minister, Sheila Dikshit for not sacking him. The Lokayukta order said: "The minister made a telephone call to the Commissioner of Trade and Taxes in the evening of February 20 last year when a team of officials were carrying out search and survey at the premises of Tivoli Garden Resort to unearth huge evasion of taxes and concealment of income."

In his defence Chauhan said as public representative, he gets lots of calls from people requesting for favours and he only responded to such a call. Following the Lokayukta order, Dikshit had gone on the offensive and said that there was a need to look into the functioning of the body and to make it "more transparent" and "just".

CWG case
Chauhan, who represents Mangolpuri Assembly constituency in outer Delhi, is considered close to Dikshit and was given the PWD portfolio in the recent reshuffle of the Cabinet even as he was facing criticism for alleged irregularities in certain CWG projects implemented by his department. The CBI had on April 30 registered a case against some officials of the Public Works Department (PWD) and a few firms in connection with alleged irregularities in the project for construction of the Rs 620 crore Barapullah Nullah flyover for the Commonwealth Games.