IAS Nagarjun Gowda Under Fire for Slashing INR 51 Crore Mining Fine to INR 4,000 After ‘Bribe’, Says ‘No Evidence To Justify Higher Penalty’
Nagarjun B Gowda, a 2019-batch IAS officer and qualified MBBS doctor, hails from a small village in Karnataka and cracked the UPSC exam with AIR 418 in 2018. Gowda is married to IAS officer Srushti Jayant Deshmukh, who secured AIR 5 in UPSC 2018. In his defence, IAS Gowda told Navbharat Times that the decision was made strictly based on documents available in court, saying, “More than half the land had valid mining permissions.
Ujjain, October 11: IAS officer Dr Nagarjun B Gowda, currently serving as the CEO of Khandwa District Panchayat, is at the center of a major controversy after reducing an INR 51.67 crore fine for illegal mining to just INR 4,032. The decision, made during his tenure as Additional District Magistrate (ADM) in Harda, has sparked allegations of bribery and favouritism, especially after RTI documents revealed inconsistencies.
The case involves Path India Company, which was working on the Indore-Betul National Highway. The firm allegedly illegally excavated over 3.11 lakh cubic metres of murrum soil from government land in Andherikheda village without necessary permissions. The then ADM, Praveen Phulpagare, had issued a penalty notice amounting to over INR 51 crore. Uttar Pradesh: Cop Caught Taking Bribe To Alter Case Charges in Hamirpur, Video Goes Viral.
Who is IAS Nagarjun Gowda?
A 2019-batch IAS officer and qualified MBBS doctor, Nagarjun B Gowda, hails from a small village in Karnataka and cracked the UPSC exam with AIR 418 in 2018. He is widely known on social media, especially among UPSC aspirants, for his motivational content and public engagements.
Gowda is married to IAS officer Srushti Jayant Deshmukh, who secured AIR 5 in UPSC 2018. The couple, often called a “power IAS couple”, are both part of the Madhya Pradesh cadre and enjoy significant public attention online. They reportedly met during their training at Uttarakhand's LBSNAA. Aligarh: Watchman Demands INR 500 Bribe to Open Mortuary After Road Accident Victim’s Death (Watch Video).
IAS Nagarjun Gowda Under Fire for Slashing INR 51 Crore Mining Fine to INR 4,000 After Bribe
However, following Phulpagare’s transfer, Gowda took charge and drastically reduced the fine. He cited the absence of photographic or video evidence, procedural lapses in the tehsildar’s report, and discrepancies in the panchnama, recalculating the volume of illegal excavation to only 2,688 cubic metres.
RTI activist Anand Jat, who unearthed the documents, accused Gowda of making a deal with the company to waive the fine. He claims villagers had concrete evidence of the illegal mining, including photos and videos, which were never brought to record. Jat also pointed to the lack of urgency in the investigation and alleged a cover-up attempt.
In his defence, IAS Gowda told Navbharat Times that the decision was made strictly based on documents available in court, saying, “More than half the land had valid mining permissions. The tehsildar’s report lacked legal backing. If there was no proper investigation or proof, how could I justify a fine? Everything was done legally. And no one has appealed my decision in two years.”
Gowda also emphasised that the previous ADM had only issued a notice, not a conclusive order, and insisted that no substantial evidence linked the company to the alleged illegal mining.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 11, 2025 09:22 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).