Rajasthan Govt Waives Registration Fee On ED Office Building Lease Deed Amid Probe Into REET Paper Leak

The Rajasthan government has waived off the registration fee of the Enforcement Directorate's office building in Jaipur.

The Rajasthan government has waived off the registration fee of the Enforcement Directorate's office building in Jaipur. The state Finance Department recently issued a notification to waive off the registration fee on the lease deed of the ED Regional Office building, as reported by the news agency IANS. State government's move has come at a time when political allegations and counter-allegations are continuing over the ED raids in the paper leak case. It needs to be mentioned here that the finance department is with Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot.

ED's zonal office building is in Jaipur's Jhalana Institutional Area where the offices of many central and state departments are located. The ED had sent a proposal to the Finance Department to waive off the registration fee on the building of the zonal office. Accepting the proposal, the Finance Department has now issued a notification to waive off the fee. 

The government in general allots land for central and state offices at cheap rates and waives many types of fees. The central and state departments send proposals for the exemptions to the government, which is usually approved by the finance department.

Last week, after conducting raids at various locations in connection with paper leak cases, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) came under strong criticism from Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot. He questioned why central agency Enforcement Directorate is "interfering" when the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) in Rajasthan is already engaged in doing its job "properly and efficiently".

Gehlot stated, "The Enforcement Directorate, CBI, and Income Tax department are eager to involve themselves in Rajasthan. The ACB has recently apprehended a member of the Rajasthan Public Service Commission (RPSC) and a collector. When the ACB is performing its duties diligently, why are the central agencies intervening? The credibility of ED, Income Tax, and CBI should remain the highest in the country. They should not succumb to pressure from higher authorities." Gehlot made these remarks while speaking to reporters on Monday, as quoted by the news agency ANI.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted searches at three locations in connection with the paper leak case in Rajasthan. Furthermore, Gehlot expressed his concerns about the Centre "undermining" the credibility of the Enforcement Directorate.