Suspended Vadodara civic body officer reinstated after four years, assigned role in Vishwamitri project

Vadodara, March 17 (IANS) The Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) has reinstated Mahesh Parnami, a former land and property officer, who was suspended in 2019 after being found in possession of 79.51 per cent disproportionate assets, officials said.

After four years of suspension, Parnami has been assigned the task of monitoring soil excavation under the Vishwamitri Project at Transport Nagar.

The reinstatement of Parnami has sparked widespread discussions within the corporation, with many questioning the decision to reinstate an officer who was previously accused of corruption.

The Vishwamitri Project aims to prevent future artificial flooding incidents in the Vishwamitri river by deepening the riverbed and nearby lakes.

Parnami’s role will be to supervise the excavation work and keep track of the soil being extracted from the river.

In 2019, Parnami was suspended after the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) arrested him for owning disproportionate assets compared to his legal income.

Despite serving as a ward officer, he was assigned to the Land and Property Department, raising suspicions at the time.

Now, his return to a lucrative position under the Vishwamitri Project has raised eyebrows, with many speculating that internal influences may have played a role in securing this position for him.

In Gujarat, several government officials have been implicated in cases involving disproportionate assets, highlighting concerns about corruption within the state’s administrative framework.

In June 2020, the ACB uncovered assets worth Rs 68.24 lakh belonging to Girjashankar Sadhu, an environmental engineer with the Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB).

This amount was 53.51 per cent higher than his known sources of income.

Sadhu had previously been arrested in 2017 for accepting a bribe of Rs 1.2 lakh from a company in Kalol during an inspection.

Further investigations revealed that he owned properties, including a petrol pump and a farmhouse in Mandvi, Kutch; land in Kamrej, Surat; and additional plots in Halol-Kalol.

In June 2024, the ACB filed a case against Bhikhabhai Theba, the deputy fire officer of the Rajkot Municipal Corporation, for possessing assets valued at more than Rs 79.94 lakh, which was nearly 67.27 per cent more than his legitimate income.

This action followed an investigation initiated after a fire incident at the TRP Game Zone that resulted in 27 fatalities.

Searches at Theba’s properties were conducted jointly by the ACB and the Rajkot Crime Branch.

In September 2019, Jayanti Patel, a field assistant with the Gujarat Land Development Corporation (GLDC) in Chhota Udepur, was booked along with his wife for owning disproportionate assets totalling Rs 2.8 crore, amounting to 59 per cent of his total assets.

The investigation revealed unaccounted cash, funds transfers, and properties, including land plots, houses, vehicles, and machinery.

Notably, Patel had allegedly transferred Rs 1.5 crore to his son’s account, who was listed as a contractor with GLDC.

In December 2019, the ACB unearthed disproportionate assets worth nearly Rs 8.48 crore from three government officials in Surendranagar.

Additional Collector Chandrakant Pandya possessed assets around Rs 6.74 crore, Deputy Collector V.Z. Chauhan had assets worth Rs 1.25 crore, and Deputy Mamlatdar J.L. Dhadvi owned assets totalling Rs 49.27 lakh. These officials were initially suspended following their involvement in a land fraud case where government land was illicitly returned to a private individual using forged documents.

–IANS

janvi/khz