Stirring A Honest Nest: Haryana IAS Officer Ashok Khemka Expresses Concern Over Aravallis, Transferred Within Hours

Hours after IAS officer Ashok Khemka spoke about the Aravallis’ land consolidation, where he commented that “it will fuel the greed of land sharks”, the senior officer was transferred to the Science and Technology department, reports Indian Express.

Khemka, a 1991-batch IAS officer of the Haryana cadre, is currently serving as principal secretary, Sports and Youth Affairs.

“He (Khemka) is a good man. I hope he brings new dimensions to science and technology in the state, ” Haryana BJP spokesperson Raman Malik commented.

According to the report, this will be Khemka’s sixth transfer during the current state BJP government's tenure. This will also be his 52nd transfer during his 27-year service as an IAS officer.

The Haryana government had recently reversed an over six-year-old order of Khemka, where he withdrew the consolidation process of 3,184 acres of land in village Kot (Faridabad), when an inquiry found that most of the land (2,565 acres) comprised of an uncultivable hilly area of Aravallis. The village is on the Gurgaon-Faridabad road.

Indian Express quoted Khemka had saying that, “Close to 80 per cent of the land concerned is hills and forests of the Aravallis, which will be destroyed in the name of consolidation.