SUMAN K SHRIVASTAVA
Ranchi, May 5: In no one’s imagination, a routine probe into transfer of three plots of land by the then Divisional Commissioner Nitin Madan Kulkarni would have unravelled the multi-crore land scam in Ranchi.
Even, the ED did not expect that it laid hands on a jackpot when it began its probe into transfer of 4.55 acres of Army land.
Now, when the then Deputy Commissioner Chhavi Ranjan has been put behind the bar for colluding with land mafias to grab government, Army and private land, a senior Enforcement Directorate officer today divulged to this writer that prima facie over 1500 acres of land changed hands fraudulently in recent years in Ranchi.
“Though BJP leader Babulal Marandi has pegged the land scam amount at Rs 10,000 crore, it could certainly be around Rs 3000-Rs 4000 crore,” he assessed and added that the transaction of all these land records is under review.
Ranjan was Deputy Commissioner of Ranchi from July 15, 2020, to July 11, 2022. A 2011 batch IAS officer, Chhavi Ranjan is currently posted as Director in the Social Welfare department.
It was during his period when a stone mining lease was granted to Chief Minister Hemant Soren for mining at Angara on the outskirts of Ranchi.
The role of Ranjan in transferring prime lands had come to the fore in a report submitted by the then Divisional Commissioner NM Kulkarni to the state government. The revenue department, however, is said to have turned a blind eye to all these reports.
And, surprisingly, whenever Kulkarni, a 1995 batch IAS officer, or any other senior officer cautioned Chhavi Ranjan, the latter often took an excuse, “Apne liye kucch nahi kar rahe hain…upper ke kahne par kar rahey hain.”
In fact, Chhavi Ranjan, according to sources, used to advise the land mafias to ‘manage’ the Commissioner first before he put his signature on the papers!
“I have no idea about the quantum of the scam. I had received only three complaints related to Army and Bajra land and got them thoroughly examined and reported to the higher authorities,” he said without elaborating further .
No wonder, Kulkarni’s tenure during the last three years had never been smooth.
Kulkarni, a Karate enthusiast, was the health secretary during the Corona wave. But when he did not get along with Health Minister Banna Gupta, he was shunted as Divisional Commissioner in January 2021 where the officer had virtually no work to do. After some time, he was also given additional charge of Principal Secretary to the Governor.
But Kulkarni knew his job well and exercising his power under the revenue act exposed the fraudulent purchase of land in Ranchi and played a whistleblower against the illegal acts of Chhavi Ranjan taken under pressure of power broker Prem Prakash and businessman Amit Agrawal.
However, when there was a hue and cry over illegal land transfers, the state government set up an SIT headed by IAS officer A Muthukumar. He is said to have done a good job, examined over a dozen cases and made scathing remarks on illegal land transfers. The government, however, has not acted on his report so far.
When the state government found Kulkarni making uncomfortable decisions, he was removed as Commissioner during the period when Chief Secretary Sukhdev Singh was on long leave for personal reasons. Since he was holding the charge of principal secretary in addition to his original posting as Divisional Commissioner, he suddenly found himself at no place, waiting for posting.
However, the removal of Kulkarni without consulting him irked the then Governor Ramesh Bais so much so that he put his foot down and ensured that he was reinstated as his principal secretary.
According to sources, Chief Secretary Sukhdev Singh, in a six-page note, had also recommended action against Ranjan. However, the chief minister’s office, sources said, noted on the file that the decision for which Ranjan was supposed to be punished was taken by him while he was presiding over the collector’s court! The file is said to be pending in the advocate general’s office for legal opinion.
According to sources, Kulkarni again found Chhavi Ranjan on the wrong foot when someone complained that he had paid Rs 5 lakh for an arms licence. The inquiry found that the said complainant had paid the amount through a cheque in the account of a private university apparently to pay the fee of someone related to Ranjan.
However, the said complainant did not want to pursue the case after a powerful minister intervened.
Notably, BJP legislator C.P. Singh had also alleged Chhavi Ranjan of receiving Rs 3 lakh for issuing an arms license. Following the allegation, Ranjan had restrained people from visiting his official residence for arms license-related work.
