The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) has given a clean-chit to Pradip Mehra, Advisor to the UT Administrator, in the controversial inquiry based on an anonymous complaint forwarded to it by the office of General SF Rodrigues (Retd) in October 2008.

In its confidential communiqué to the UT Administration (a copy of which is with Newsline), the Commission has written: “The inquiry report submitted by the Direct Inquiry Officer, Central Vigilance Commission, has been examined by the Commission and it has concluded that the allegations levelled against Pradip Mehra have not been substantiated. The Commission, has therefore, approved closure of the case.”

An anonymous complaint was forwarded for an inquiry by Gen Rodrigues to the CVC.

The complainant had alleged that around Rs 6 lakh was diverted from the Chandigarh Industrial and Tourism Corporation’s (CITCO) funds for renovation of Mehra’s government accommodation in Delhi.

The inquiry was marked to Mitter Sain, Direct Inquiry Officer, who is among the top officers of the Commission.

While the inquiry was on, General Rodrigues, while exercising his powers, stripped Mehra of his powers to write Annual Confidential Reports of his subordinate officers.

Evidently referring to it, the Central Vigilance Commission in its communication has stated that “the Union Territory of Chandigarh may take appropriate corrective action on some of their administrative orders issued due to the pendency of inquiry against Pradip Mehra.”

How it all originated

The rift between the two top men of the city Administration — Gen Rodrigues and Pardip Mehra — originated when the latter refused to tow Rodrigues’s line of thought in the conceptualisation and allotment of various mega projects. The tussle aggravated when Mehra recommended CBI probe in the Filmcity project. Mehra had also objected to the Medicity project, saying that the land for it was ‘too undervalued’.

Later, the Administrator took cognisance of an anonymous letter and marked it to the CVC.