Gurgaon: A multi-tiered framework of administrative deception — where public funds earmarked for fruit orchards were siphoned off through phantom sapling orders, micro-irrigation subsidies were illegally diverted to wheat and mustard farmers, and expired bio-pesticides were purchased without authorisation — forms the core of a major corruption case registered by Haryana Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB).Rather than a single leak in public finance, the fraud represents a calculated, three-front exploitation of state and central horticulture promotion schemes. According to an investigation by State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (SV&ACB), officials in Gurgaon horticulture department systematically bypassed mandatory field verifications, state agricultural university guidelines and basic sanction procedures to enrich private vendors and release unauthorised subsidies.The alleged irregularities date back to 2009-10 and involved govt officials and private vendors. They came to light during a vigilance inquiry ordered by Haryana chief secretary in 2013, which found that mandatory field verification, beneficiary identification, competent sanctions and prescribed technical recommendations had been bypassed to release govt funds and place supply orders.SV&ACB registered a criminal case against a retired district horticulture officer, an assistant plantation officer, two clerks and private suppliers on Aug 3.Mahender Singh Sangwan, then DHO, has been named the principal departmental accused in the case. The investigation alleges he authorised subsidy payments for non-eligible crops, issued supply orders for saplings without completing prescribed procedures, and facilitated procurement of agricultural inputs without requisitions. Sangwan retired from govt service on April 30, 2012, after availing his service benefits.The FIR states that Kedar Nath Singh, then assistant plantation officer failed in supervisory responsibilities and did not enforce prescribed verification procedures. Clerks Kailash Chand and Hukam Chand have been accused of facilitating the administrative side of the transactions, including movement of files and maintenance of records, despite the absence of mandatory checks and transaction documentation.The FIR alleges criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust by a public servant, cheating, forgery and use of forged documents of Indian Penal Code.The case assumes significance because the manipulation was not confined to a single scheme — investigators found irregularities spanning National Horticulture Mission, Minor Irrigation scheme and procurement of bio-inputs, pointing to what the inquiry described as a systematic breakdown of financial and administrative controls. The fraud allegedly operated through three distinct channels.Officials allegedly generated paperwork showing expansion of fruit cultivation without first identifying beneficiaries, preparing land, or completing mandatory field-level formalities. In July 2009, two supply orders worth a total of Rs 6,32,500 were issued to M/s Gyano Devi Bagh & Nursery. “The orders were issued before beneficiary farmers had been identified and without competent sanction, preparation of field layouts or digging of pits — basic steps intended to ensure that the saplings were actually planted and survived,” said an ACB official.The inquiry subsequently found extremely poor survival of plantations in the fields inspected, with survival rates reported to be as low as 5% to 10%, despite expenditure claimed for maintenance of plantations over three years and across thousands of hectares.The inquiry found that during 2009-10, Sangwan allegedly sanctioned and disbursed Rs 16,62,508 in sprinkler subsidies — carrying govt assistance of 50% to 90% — to farmers growing wheat and mustard, crops not eligible for subsidy under the horticulture scheme. The inquiry also found that no horticulture development officer had submitted the mandatory recommendations for these payments. “The alleged diversion therefore involved not merely procedural lapses but release of public money to beneficiaries who did not meet the scheme’s basic eligibility criteria,” said the officer.Officials allegedly then bypassed headquarters’ directions and the recommendations of Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University (CCSHAU), Hisar, to purchase expired Trichoderma bio-inputs from a private trader without any field demand. In one transaction, officials allegedly procured Trichoderma bio-inputs worth Rs 3,45,000 from M/s Chaudhary Traders, Kurukshetra. The inquiry found that the material was expired and that the procurement had been made without a field demand, in disregard of departmental and CCSHAU directions.The two private suppliers were named for their alleged role in accepting unauthorised supply orders and supplying the disputed inputs.The inquiry, led by DSP Vijay Kumar Nehra, also uncovered what investigators described as a serious failure of record-keeping and internal controls. During inspection of the DHO office in the city, investigators found that basic records relating to the transactions were missing, including farmer application forms, physical verification checklists, original bills, expenditure vouchers, sanction orders and field inspection reports.The absence of these records meant there was little documentary trail to establish whether beneficiaries had actually applied for the benefits, whether the work had been carried out on the ground, or whether the payments had been properly sanctioned. Investigators also found that internal audits and supervisory spot checks had not been conducted before the funds were released.
