INLD seeks judicial probe into Haryana land scam
By IANSWednesday, January 26, 2011
CHANDIGARH - Haryanas main opposition party Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) Wednesday sought a judicial probe into a multi-billion-rupee land scandal in the state during the tenure of the Bhupinder Singh Hooda government.
Alleging that hundreds of acres of prime land, worth billions of rupees, had been sold to a leading builder by the Hooda government in violation of all rules and at throw-away prices, the INLD sought an independent probe into the deal.
“The INLD has demanded that a sitting judge of the Supreme Court be asked to inquire into the scam, party secretary general Ajay Singh Chautala said here.
The latest land scandal relates to the sale of 350 acres of land to a private builder for Rs.1,703 crore (Rs.17.03 billion), he said.
Chautala accused the Hooda government of making futile attempts to divert people’s attention by giving out false facts on the land sale to the builder DLF and also other land deals.
He claimed that the 350 acres land was sold to DLF by falsifying facts and amending conditions to suit the builder.
The deal was hurriedly made on the eve of the 2009 assembly polls. The Hooda government had decided much before that DLF should be the beneficiary. The conditions of the tender were tailor-made for DLF and had in fact been drawn up on the promptings of the builder, Chautala accused.
He added: When tenders for the sale in January 2009 could not be accepted on the basis of it being a single bid, the government called for new bids with vastly different conditions. This time the successful bidder was to get the additional benefit of 20 percent increased FAR (floor area ratio) not only for the land for sale but also for other lands under development.
He said that the acceptance of the DLF bid regarding 350 acres land was made Aug 18, 2009. By a strange coincidence, it happened to be the same day on which the Haryana cabinet was slated to meet to recommend the dissolution of the assembly. The cabinet meeting was postponed to Aug 21 to facilitate the completion of the nefarious deed, Chautala accused.
