An IAS officer posted in Uttar Pradesh, Durga Shakti Nagpal, has been asked to pay ₹1.63 crore for allegedly staying in an official bungalow in New Delhi without proper authorization. The case involves her occupancy of a bungalow on the Pusa campus of the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI).
Nagpal, currently serving as the District Magistrate of Lakhimpur Kheri, has stated that she had requested extensions due to her parents’ ill health and sought a waiver of the penal charges.
Background of the Case
According to the Indian Express report, the IARI, under the Union Agriculture Ministry, issued notices to Nagpal for “unauthorised occupation” of bungalow B-17 from May 2022 to February 2025. Nagpal was initially allotted the bungalow on 19 March 2015 after joining as Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to then Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh. She moved in on 16 April 2015, paying a monthly rent of ₹6,600 plus water charges.
Nagpal’s deputation with the Agriculture Ministry ended on 7 May 2019. However, she continued living in the bungalow while working in the Commerce Ministry. She finally vacated the house in February 2025 after IARI sought Delhi Police’s assistance.
Who Is Durga Shakti Nagpal?
Durga Shakti Nagpal is a 2010-batch IAS officer. She gained national attention in 2013 for her crackdown on illegal sand mining in Noida. In July 2013, she was controversially suspended by the Akhilesh Yadav-led UP government for allegedly demolishing an illegal mosque wall. Her suspension was later revoked, and she was transferred to Kanpur Dehat.
Nagpal began her career in the Punjab cadre and joined the Mohali district administration in June 2011. She later moved to the UP cadre as SDM of Noida. She has served as OSD to the Union Agriculture Minister and became District Magistrate of Banda in March 2023.
Durga Shakti Nagpal Responds
“I had requested the Ministry for extension, which was allowed, and I have paid the rent for the same, and subsequently vacated the house. Still, due to some lack of paperwork, they added compounding penal charges, which are notional and impractical. I have requested its waiver, which is in process. That is why the state government has also sent a letter to the Ministry on June 26 (this year) requesting a waiver,” Nagpal told Indian Express.
The IARI, however, in a May letter, stated that her request for extension “cannot be considered since the allotment of the aforementioned bungalow was already cancelled by the Institute.” The institute asked her to deposit ₹1,63,57,550 in “damage charges.”
History of Notices and Warnings
The IARI had been asking Nagpal to vacate the bungalow since 2020. On 5 August 2020, she was allowed to stay only until 10 October 2020, with a warning that eviction proceedings would follow under the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1971.
Later, on 11 March 2022, IARI permitted her to stay until April 2022 as a “special case,” but warned that from May onwards, she would be charged market rent of ₹92,000 per month, increasing progressively. She did not vacate immediately, prompting repeated reminders in May and June.
