Senior PCS officer Harish Chandra dismissed over 4,000 crore Noida land scam

The Uttar Pradesh government has dismissed Harish Chandra, a senior 1997-batch PCS officer, following his involvement in a massive leaseback land scam in Noida. The action comes 15 years after the irregularities occurred during his tenure as Secretary of the Noida Authority in 2011.

Investigations revealed that Chandra bypassed regulations to lease approximately 381,527 square meters of acquired land in Sectors 140A, 141, 142, and 143 to private companies and outsiders. While leaseback provisions were intended strictly for local farmers—limited to a maximum of 450 square meters per family—the scam involved allocating plots exceeding 15,000 square meters to private entities. The market value of the land involved is estimated between 3,800 and 4,000 crore rupees.

Disciplinary proceedings against Chandra had been ongoing since 2013. Following a detailed departmental inquiry by then-CEO Ritu Maheshwari and subsequent approval from the Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission (UPPSC), M. Devraj, Principal Secretary of Appointment and Personnel, issued the dismissal order. Prior to his dismissal, Chandra was serving as a local representative for the Food and Logistics Department in Kolkata, West Bengal.