Exactly a month after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) conducted searches at his residence at the posh locality of Gandhi Nagar in Jammu, senior IAS officer of Jammu and Kashmir Naveen Choudhary has been transferred to Mizoram.
Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India on Friday ordered the transfer of five IAS and one IPS officer including Navin Kumar Choudhary and M Raju of Jammu and Kashmir with immediate effect.
Belonging to the joint AGMUT cadre, Choudhary has been transferred to Mizoram while M Raju to Arunachal Pradesh, according to an order by MHA.
The others transferred include Sudhir Kumar (IAS, AGMUT:2005) on return from deputation to GNCTD, MRM Rao (IAS, AGMUT¨2007) from Mizoram to Goa, A Ashwin Candru (IAS AGMUT: 2019) from Mizoram to Goa and Vikramajit Singh (IPS, AGMUT: 2004) on joining the AGMUT cadre from Kerela cadre to J&K.
CBI conducts raids at Naveen Choudhary's residence on April 21
Sleuths of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on April 21 conducted searches at 14 locations, across the country, in connection with the charges.
The CBI has registered two cases in the matter. The agency has booked Anil Ambani's Reliance General Insurance Company and officials of Chenab Valley Power Projects Pvt Ltd (CVPPPL), among others, in the two cases.
CBI conducted raids at the residences of senior IAS officer of Jammu and Kashmir Navin Choudhary, former officers of Chenab Valley Projects Construction Limited and a construction company in Jammu, New Delhi, Bihar, and Mumbai.
Naveen Choudhary is presently serving as Principal Secretary of the Health and Medical Education Department of Jammu and Kashmir.
Raids were conducted in Jammu, Srinagar, Delhi, Mumbai, Noida, Trivandrum (Kerala), and Darbhanga (Bihar) at the premises of the accused including private companies, then Chairman, then MD, then Directors of CVPPPL.
CBI had registered two separate cases on the request from the Jammu & Kashmir Government on the allegations of malpractices in the award of contract of J&K Employees Health Care Insurance Scheme to a private company & release of Rs. 60 crore in the year 2017-18.
The J&K government has also approached CBI to probe the award of the contract worth Rs. 2200 crore (approx.) of civil works of Kiru Hydro Electric Power Project (HEP) to a private firm in the year 2019.
Assumed charge as Principal Secretary H&ME on May 10
Interestingly Naveen Kumar Choudhary on May 10 assumed charge as Principal Secretary, Health, and Medical Education Department.
Immediately after assuming charge, Principal Secretary took an introductory meeting of officers of the Health and Medical Education Department. He exhorted upon them to redouble their efforts towards initiating fundamental reforms besides streamlining the existing system.
Naveen Kumar Choudhary, a 1994-batch officer was posted as the principal secretary of the Health and Medical Education Department on May 5.
Choudhary first non-local officer to get a domicile certificate
A native of Bihar's Darbhanga district, Naveen Kumar Choudhary was the first senior IAS officer from outside Jammu and Kashmir to become a domicile of the Union Territory.
A domicile certificate was issued to Choudhary on June 24, 2020, by the tehsildar of Jammu district's Bahu, as per new rules notified last month for the issue of domicile certificates in the UT, given the change in status of J&K after the abrogation of Article 370.
