Former chief secretary and former chairman of Real Estate Development Authority (RERA) in Himachal Pradesh Dr. Shrikant Baldi has come under scanner for distributing apple boxes to IAS and IPS officers using funds of RERA.
Most of these officers are from Rajasthan – the state Baldi belongs to.
According to reports, Baldi distributed 49 boxes of apples using government funds in 2022 when he was chairman RERA. There is no provision in RERA for buying gifts for any officer.
“Apples were purchased from state government undertaking Himachal Pradesh Horticulture Products Marketing and Processing Corporation (HPMC) and distributed to the officers. Baldi bought 49 boxes of 20 kg each from HPMC spending Rs 44,100,” said an officer.
On the other hand Baldi said that there was no violation of rules while distributing apples.
“I had distributed apples to RERA chairman, RERA members of Rajasthan and other officers. I had not given it to any of my relatives. I don't find any problem in that,” Baldi said.
Rajesh Dharmani, housing minister of Himachal Pradesh termed it a wrong practice.
“If you want to gift anything to IAS and IPS officers, you should buy it from your own earnings. Using government funds is not appropriate,” he said.
Ram Kumar Kaushik is a seasoned journalist with over 25 years of experience across mediums. The architect of this news website, he is also a consultant with several media groups. He was formerly the group managing editor of ITV Network (NewsX, India News and The Sunday Guardian) and its digital products.
