BHOPAL: The Madhya Pradesh Economic Offences Wing (EOW) has initiated a preliminary inquiry to probe an alleged complaint of corruption, misuse of official position and regulatory violations against A P Srivastava, the chairman of the Madhya Pradesh Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA).
The inquiry follows a complaint which outlines serious charges related to irregularities in appointments and the acquisition of a residential plot.
Complainant has accused Srivastava of manipulating the recruitment process for various RERA positions. Specifically, the complaint claims that out of two sanctioned posts for Adjudication Officers, only one was advertised, while the other was filled without a public notice. Additionally, Srivastava is alleged to have overlooked the age limit requirement for contractual appointments, which mandates a maximum age of 65 years, by appointing an individual older than this limit.
The complaint also accuses the RERA chairman of purchasing a residential plot from a builder amid ongoing investigations into the same builder’s activities.
DG EOW Ajay Sharma said that a PE has been registered to probe the complaint. Srivastava is an IAS officer from the 1984 batch. After his retirement he was appointed Chairman of RERA for a five-year term by the Urban Development and Housing Department. His predecessor, IAS officer and former Chief Secretary Antony Disa, was removed from the position in September 2020 before completing his term.
Among the candidates for the RERA chairman position were IAS officers Manoj Shrivastava and KK Singh. The Urban Development and Housing Department had submitted a panel of two names to the Chief Minister, including both KK Singh and AP Srivastava. Srivastava had served as Director General of the Academy of Administration and as Additional Chief Secretary in the Forest Department from February 2020. He was a potential candidate for Chief Secretary but went on a five-month leave, during which SR Mohanty was appointed as Chief Secretary by the then Congress government.
