THE NEMESIS OF NEERA

 

 

“Mirror Mirror on the wall, who is the most corrupt of them all,” she asked. “You”, the mirror replied. Not that it relates to the person who we are going to talk about, but then Uttar Pradesh’s senior bureaucrat and former Chief Secretary Neera Yadav was once voted ‘most corrupt’ by officials of the Indian Adminstrative System. Often called as the ‘woman for all regimes’, Neera Yadav has been accused of several scams. The biggest of them all is the Noida land scam. Incidentally, she reportedly belongs to the state Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav’s camp.

On 15 January, the Supreme Court directed the UP government to continue with the departmental inquiry against Neera Yadav for her alleged irregularities as Noida Development Authority chief.



THE BELL TOLLS

Neera Yadav was once voted most corrupt officer

But Mulayam promoted her as Chief Secretary

Apex court reopens probe



During her tenure as NDA chief, Neera Yadav had allegedly allotted plots to several bureaucrats, politicians and her two daughters in 1995. Several irregularities were reported in the allotment procedure. The CBI had initiated a probe against her and filed an interim report to the UP government seeking permission for a detailed probe. The government had eventually ordered a departmental inquiry against the woman bureaucrat and her promotion was held back. However, the Mulayam Singh government not only withdrew the departmental probe, but also promoted her to the rank of Chief Secretary in April 2005. The Supreme Court observed that the quashing of the departmental inquiry was wrong and has asked the government to proceed with the probe. At this juncture, Neera Yadav is Chairman of the Board of Revenue. Mulayam’s regime has become synonymous with corruption. He has filled the state with corrupt and inefficient bureaucrats and police officers. The Neera Yadav order is most welcome. Three cheers to the Supreme Court.