Meerut, Dec. 26 -- The Uttar Pradesh State Industrial Development Authority (UPSIDA) has initiated steps to recover Rs.30 crore allegedly embezzled by three retired officials who are accused of illegally disbursing compensation to farmers without completing mandatory land registration formalities. An FIR was registered against the trio nearly a year ago, and preparations are now underway to recover the misappropriated amount. According to Mansoor Katiyar, Regional Manager of UPSIDA Division-11, Bareilly, the FIR was lodged in November last year by UPSIDA Manager Gopal Prasad. The accused include Ajit Singh, then Executive Engineer of Construction Division-4, Aligarh; Tejveer Singh, then Regional Manager, Aligarh; and Deep Chand, then Executive Engineer of Construction Division-4, Aligarh. The three officials were responsible for the acquisition of 151 acres of land in Naipura Khadar and Fazalpur Gausai villages for the development of an industrial area. In 2013, they distributed around Rs.30 crore as compensation to farmers. However, investigations revealed that the officials failed to execute sale deeds for the acquired land, a mandatory legal requirement, amounting to gross negligence and alleged embezzlement. The irregularities came to light during a detailed inquiry conducted by UPSIDA Division-11 Senior Manager Rajeev Kumar and Regional Manager Mansoor Katiyar. The probe concluded that the retired officials were responsible for the misappropriation of Rs.30 crore, which is now set to be recovered from them. Although a year has passed since the FIR was registered and police initiated the investigation, the probe is yet to be completed and its report has not been submitted to UPSIDA. Despite this delay, the authority has decided to proceed with recovery measures. "The process to recover the embezzled amount from the three retired officials is underway and will be completed soon," Katiyar said....