Moga, Nov 7: The Punjab Government suspended Charumita, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Moga, following serious allegations of irregularities in a Rs 3.7-crore land acquisition case tied to the National Highway-703 project.
An official order from the Department of Personnel (PCS Branch), under the direction of the Governor, cited Rule 4(1)(a) of the Punjab Civil Services (Punishment and Appeal) Rules, 1970, placing the 2014-batch PCS officer under suspension. During this period, Charumita’s headquarters will remain in Chandigarh, and she will receive subsistence allowance as per service rules.
The move follows a formal charge sheet issued by the Public Works Department (PWD) in September and a call for a Vigilance Bureau (VB) probe into alleged manipulation of a compensation award for land acquired along the Dharmkot–Shahkot stretch.
The land, originally acquired in 1963 by PWD Ferozepur for road construction, remained in continuous public use for over five decades. In 2022, however, a Change of Land Use (CLU) allowed it to be redesignated for commercial purposes. During a 2014 widening project under the National Highways Act, 1956, the land was “re-acquired,” and in 2019, a compensation award of Rs 3.7 crore was issued—treating it as a new acquisition.
Officials later found that the award had been approved without verifying the original 1963 acquisition records. The discrepancies surfaced when the awardee approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court seeking enhanced compensation. A court-directed inquiry by the Ferozepur Deputy Commissioner flagged “serious procedural lapses” in demarcation, evaluation, and record handling by Moga revenue officials.
Ravi Bhagat, Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister and Secretary, PWD, noted in his September 17 observations that “multiple contradictory demarcation reports” were issued between 2021 and 2025, alongside a partition mutation recorded in July 2021, despite the land being under government use since 1963. He also highlighted that an inflated consent award of Rs 3.62 crore was issued for just three kanals of land, far exceeding market value.
Following these findings, the Financial Commissioner (Revenue), Anurag Verma, chargesheeted Dharamkot tehsildar Maninder Singh and naib tehsildar Gurdeep Singh for lapses in land demarcation and record verification. The FCR has also ordered a fresh demarcation under the supervision of Ferozepur Deputy Commissioner Deepshikha Sharma and the District Revenue Officer, Ludhiana, with officials from the Vigilance Bureau, PWD, and NHAI present.
The Vigilance Bureau is examining the conduct of all officers involved in the award and CLU approvals to determine if there was deliberate misconduct or collusion. Charumita, who was Moga SDM at the time, denied any wrongdoing. “This issue relates to before my joining the government job,” she said. She added, “The SDM has no role in granting or approving CLUs — that authority rests with GLADA.”
Officials noted that her role came under scrutiny for not ensuring due diligence in the compensation process and for approving the award without verifying historical records. With the suspension of ADC Charumita and chargesheets issued to two tehsildars, the investigation appears to be widening. Senior officials indicated more Moga district administration and PWD officers could face disciplinary action as the probe continues.
