Captain Ajay Chauhan, former Director of Gujarat Civil Aviation and once the CEO of Gujarat State Aviation Infrastructure Company Limited (GujSAIL), who was demoted to the post of accounts manager due to misuse of government facilities, is now in the line of fire for financial wrongdoings. Chauhan was reportedly receiving a non-flying allowance of Rs 5 lakh every month. Caught off guard, the state government has now ordered the recovery of Rs 3,27,33,780 from Ajay Chauhan.
During his time at GujSAIL, Capt Chauhan was found to have been receiving an additional Rs 5 lakh per month as a non-flying allowance on top of his salary. He justified this by claiming that, despite holding a flying licence, he was functioning as an accounts manager, and as flying work had not been assigned, the non-flying allowance was due to him under the central government’s rules. However, the state government’s salary ceiling rule posed a significant challenge for him.
According to this rule, no officer or employee of the state government could receive a salary higher than that of the chief secretary of the state, which stood at Rs 2,25,000. By showing the non-flying allowance as part of his salary, Chauhan would not be entitled to earn one rupee beyond Rs 2,25,000. To circumvent this, he listed the allowance as a helicopter operation cost, thereby managing to embezzle over Rs 3 crore from 2017 to February 2023.
As this came to light in the government enquiry, on July 15, DCA Director Nitin Sangwan issued a recovery notice of Rs 3,27,33,780 to Ajay Chauhan, ordering him to deposit the money within 15 days.
However, Chauhan has not yet paid the amount. Sangwan said a notice has been issued, and further notices would follow, after which appropriate measures were to be taken on the revenue side, including legal action. Notably, this recovery marks the largest ever in the history of salary allowances for a government employee.
Chauhan, now suspended, has also been found to have amassed properties worth Rs 100 crore, including flats, farmhouses, and commercial properties in Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, and Noida.
Chauhan’s vast array of properties includes two luxury flats in Riviera Elegance at Prahladnagar, two large farmhouses at Gandhinagar and Shela, and commercial properties at prime locations on SG Highway and Commerce Chha Rasta. Additionally, he has a flat in Noida. Chauhan has also purchased extensive tracts of land in Rajasthan, registering property in his wife’s name in the United States. The state government is now taking stringent steps to confiscate benami assets.
To avoid being caught, Chauhan bought a farmhouse in the name of someone else, specifically his close brother Prahaladbhai Jairam Chauhan, along with Shambhubhai Chauhan and Ranjit Chauhan, who were mentioned in the property documents.
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