Former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Delhi Jal Board (DJB) and controversial AGMUT (Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram and Union Territory ) cadre officer Udit Prakash Raj accused of demolishing a monument and constructing a Government accommodation has now vacated his bungalow following the court order.
Top sources said the authorities are planning how it could be used as Delhi Officers Institute for Group B and C employees of Delhi for their training and welfare under Directorate of Training or could it be used for any public welfare project. “It is a huge space and such a huge infrastructure should be put to a larger welfare project than individual welfare,” sources added.
Rai, a 2007 batch officer from the AGMUT cadre, was allotted a bungalow in Jal Vihar when he was the CEO of the Delhi Jal Board between October 18, 2021 and May 31, 2022, is currently under suspension by the Ministry of Home Affairs.
He was allegedly involved in the construction of an official accommodation following the demolition of a 15th-century monument during his tenure as the Delhi Jal Board’s (DJB) chief executive officer.
Earlier, on April 26, Delhi’s vigilance department issued a show cause notice to Rai for allegedly demolishing the monument, located in Jal Vihar near Lajpat Nagar, which finds a mention in the Archaeological Survey of India’s “List of Muhammadan and Hindu monuments” prepared in the 20th century. The monument, a “mahal” (palace) from the Pathan period and the only remnant of the Khizrabad city founded by Khizr Khan of the Sayyid dynasty, was located in the Jal Vihar area, near Lajpat Nagar, in southeast Delhi.
His wife Shilpi Udit Rai, who was residing in the Delhi bungalow along with children, had approached the high court with a petition challenging a July 28 notice issued by DJB asking them to vacate the premises within 15 days. During the last hearing, Shilpi submitted before the court that she would vacate the bungalow.
In August last year, Delhi Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena recommended action against Rai for allegedly accepting a Rs 50-lakh bribe to grant “undue favours” to an executive engineer in two corruption cases. During his tenure as the vice-chairman of the Delhi Agricultural Marketing Board (DAMB), Rai “virtually let off” executive engineer P S Meena in two disproportionate assets cases — one involving Meena’s son and the other involving his wife.
