Controversy time

Vinod Behl

The real estate scene in Haryana this year, was marked by a number of controversies. Former Chief Minister, Bhupinder Singh Hooda came under scanner in connection with the case involving controversial land deals. Justice S.N Dhingra Commission which inquired into 250 land deals during Hooda government, including the one involving Robert Vadra, submitted its report to Supreme Court. The report involved farmers’ land that was purchased by builders under threat of acquisition  and after the purchase, the state government dropped the land in question from acquisition and granted licenses to builders. It was alleged that the same land was sold at price 20 times more than what the farmers got from builders. Hooda was also booked by the CBI for alleged re-allotment of a plot to Associated Journals Limited (AJL) in Panchkula in 2005. Earlier, the Haryana State Vigilance Bureau had also registered a case of cheating and corruption against Hooda and four officials on the ground that re-allotment of land had caused a huge financial loss to state as the plot should have been sold through open auction instead of being allotted again to AJL. This year Haryana government was also surrounded by controversy relating to External Development Charges (EDC). A PIL in High Court alleged that around Rs 14,000 crore were collected as EDC by the Haryana Urban Development Authority in Gurugram over the past two decades but the amount was not spent  proportionately. 

The arrest of Sanjay Chandra, Managing Director of leading Gurugram-based real estate firm, Unitech Limited and his brother Ajay Chandra for money laundering of Rs 35 crore, cheating homebuyers, also made headlines. The Chandras were booked by the Economic Offences Wing of Delhi Police.