Haryana whistleblower Chaturvedi win Ramon Magsaysay award

CHANDIGARH: Haryana’s whistleblower IFS officer has been chosen for this year’s Ramon Magsaysay Award for his exemplary integrity and courage in public life.

A Haryana cadre IFS officer Sanjiv Chaturvedi is currently posted as deputy secretary at All India Institute of Medical Sciences after he went on central deputation in 2012. Chaturvedi was removed from his post of chief vigilance officer at AIIMS in 2014 after he had detected irregularities at the medical institute. After coming to power, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal had decided to depute him as his officer on special duty (OSD), though, his request is still pending with the Centre.

In Haryana, Chaturvedi had faced 12 transfers between 2005-2010 apart from suspension, departmental chargesheets for major penalty, police and vigilance cases, spoiling of ACRs (annual confidential reports). As many as four times, the President had intervened to quash orders of suspension, departmental chargesheets and spoiling of his ACRs.

Confirming extreme hardships faced by the officer, a two member probe panel of Union ministry of environment and forest (MoEF) in 2010 had recommended a CBI probe into the matter while central vigilance commission had suggested protection to the officer.

The Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation citation said that Chaturvedi is being recognized for “his exemplary integrity, courage and tenacity in uncompromisingly exposing and painstakingly investigating corruption in public office, and his resolute crafting of program and system improvements to ensure that government honorably serves the people of India.”