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New Delhi, October 8 (IANS) In a stirring development in administrative circles, a 2010 batch IAS officer Durga Shakti Nagpal, who is currently working as the District Magistrate of Lakhimpur Kheri, Uttar Pradesh, has imposed a huge penalty of Rs 1.63 crore by the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) to allegedly stay in a government bungalow in Delhi for more than the scheduled time.
The amount was calculated using the government’s telescopic formula for unauthorized occupation. For type VI-A housing, the damage starts at Rs 92,000 per month and gradually rises to Rs 4.6 lakhs every month.
The center of the dispute is Bungalow B-17, which is a type VI-A house in the Pusa campus of IARI, which Nagpal captured from April 2015.
Initially the bungalow was allotted during his tenure as the special duty officer of the then Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh, which was to be vacated after his deputation ended in May 2019.
However, the record shows that she remained the same until February 2025, including posting in the Ministry of Commerce and her return to Uttar Pradesh Cadre News18.
The notice of IARI issued under the public premises (eviction of unauthorized occupants) Acts, using a telescopic formula, calculates the damage – starts from Rs 92,000 per month and increases to Rs 4.6 lakh monthly over time.
The total fine for the period between May 2022 to February 2025 is Rs 1,63,57,550.
Nagpal, a former student of Indira Gandhi Delhi Women’s Technical University along with B.Tech in Computer Science, has defended her extended stay.
Citing his parents’ serious health conditions – his father’s bypass surgery and his mother’s knee replacement – he claimed to obtain official permission and pay the rent. He told a section of media that he has paid the rent.
He said that due to the disappearance of some paperwork, punitive allegations were added, which are completely imaginary and have requested exemption.
Despite several IARI remitters from 2020, the eviction proceedings began in July 2022, which ended in early 2025 in the recovery of possession of police with the help of police.
The ministry is currently reviewing his apology request, which is supported by a letter from the Uttar Pradesh government sent in June 2025. Nagpal, known for her anti -corruption functions and administrative skills, is leading the development initiative in Lakhimpur Kheri.
Whether or not this financial controversy will affect his career, it is yet to be seen, but it has definitely resumed the debate around bureaucracy accountability and housing norms.
-IANS
SKTR/PGH