Law unto itself, Sirsa dera didn’t care two hoots about govt norms

Sushil Manav

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 6

It seems Dera Sacha Sauda, under its head Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, was a law unto itself and those managing its affairs didn’t care two hoots about government agencies. For example, none of the residential colonies in the vicinity of the old dera building are approved by Haryana’s Town and Country Planning Department. 

  The dera authorities “register” all sale deeds and the sellers/buyers do not have to visit the tehsildar’s office. “If the buyer and seller reach a deal, the dera authorities issue an allotment letter in favour of the buyer and cancel the one issued earlier in favour of the seller,” explained an insider, adding it was entirely up to the dera management whether or not to transfer any flat/house ownership in localities raised by it.

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The dera initially did not seek approval for raising buildings inside the new dera where most of the stadia, colleges, hospitals, manufacturing units and cinema halls are located. Later, realising that approval of site plans was a must for other approvals, dera officials reportedly influenced successive governments into including the area in the ‘lal dora’ (municipal limits) to circumvent the need for change of land use (CLU). Pressure tactics were used to get approvals from the registering authorities and rules were seldom followed.

Also, as per the Haryana State Blood Transfusion Society rules, any organisation aiming to collect more than 500 units of blood at a donation camp needs the approval of the state authorities. But the dera organised camps where more than 15,000 units were collected and no permission was ever sought.

An official with the Child Welfare Council (CWC) pointed out that despite registering its orphanages (Shahi Betiyan Basera and Shahi Asra Basera) under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act 2015, the dera had not cared to follow the laid-down rules.

“Children are to be produced before the council and those below the age of six given for adoption. But the dera refused to do so even after Jyoti Bainda, chairperson of the State Commission for Protection of Children Rights, issued specific orders to this effect,” he said.

The dera officials arbitrarily erected huge gates on the Chopta road opening into the forest land. A forest officer admitted that they could not muster the courage to question them about the grave violation. 

The dera had its own security protocol that even senior visiting officials could not skip. “When a team went inside the dera on the directions of the Punjab and Haryana High Court to check if ex-servicemen were imparting arms training to volunteers, they were frisked and asked to leave their gunmen outside. Also, a senior police officer was stopped from carrying his service revolver inside,” claimed Lekh Raj Dhot, a senior advocate from Sirsa.

Report loss: Haryana

Chandigarh: The Sirsa district administration has issued a public notice asking people to report and claim compensation against the loss and damage during the August 25 violence, which broke out after the conviction of Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh. The victims will have to report their losses within 15 days. PTI