Former UP chief secretary, Flex Ind CMD sentenced to 4 years jail in Noida land scam

Former Uttar Pradesh chief secretary Neera Yadav was today sentenced to four years in prison after a court found her guilty of corruption in what's referred to as the Noida land scam. Joining her for an equal term was Ashok Chaturvedi, chairman of Flex Industries, the company that Yadav illegally favoured in order to get a plot in the industrial hub close to Delhi.

In the jam-packed CBI court of Ghaziabad, presided over by special court judge A K Singh, also imposed a fine of Rs50,000 each on Yadav and Chaturvedi. The two were convicted and sentenced under section 13 of the Prevention of Corruption Act and 120B (conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code

Yadav broke down after hearing the verdict against her. Yadav and Chaturvedi were sent to the high-security Dasna district jail. While Chaturvedi was handcuffed, Yadav was spared that particular indignity.

Yadav was the chief of the Noida Development Authority seven years ago. The Noida Entrepreneurs' Association filed cases accusing her of manipulating rules to get out-of-turn allotments for bureaucrats, politicians, industrialists, and family and friends.

Yadav, the wife of a BJP politician, was appointed chief secretary in April 2005 when Mulayam Singh Yadav was the state's chief minister. She was dismissed on the orders of the Supreme Court on the basis of the multiple charges of corruption.

The Central Bureau of Investigation had earlier stated that Yadav's allotment of two plots to two different companies owned by Chaturvedi cost the government more than Rs1 crore in losses. She was accused by the agency of changing criteria for eligibility for land to benefit Chaturvedi. CBI investigators had found that Yadav personally processed Flex's applications for land allotment.