Know more about Punjab's guava orchard scam

Tribune News Service

Gaurav Kanthwal

Mohali, March 27

Twenty-one arrests in the guava orchard scam have been made wherein compensation worth Rs 130 crore was reportedly wrongfully claimed in lieu of the land acquired by Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) at Bakarpur village in Mohali.

There are around 100 beneficiaries involving nearly 200 acres of land.

The Vigilance Bureau had registered a case in the Rs 130-crore guava orchard compensation case involving revenue and horticulture officials for receiving compensation on the basis of forged documents for the land acquired by GMADA at Bakarpur and adjoining villages between 2016 and 2020.

A case under Sections 409, 420, 465, 466, 468, 471, 120-B of the Indian Penal Code and Section 13(1) (a), 13 (2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act was registered at the Vigilance Bureau Police Station, Flying Squad-1, at Mohali on May 2, 2023.

According to the Vigilance Bureau, Bhupinder Singh, a resident of Bakarpur, a property dealer, in connivance with officials/employees of GMADA, Revenue and Horticulture department, along with his colleagues including Mukesh Jindal and Vikas Bhandari started planting guava orchards on the agricultural land by getting land on general power of attorneys.

The accused reportedly prepared a fake girdavari register in 2019 in collusion with halqa patwari Bachitar Singh in which they obtained compensation worth crores of rupees illegally by showing that they owned guava orchards on their land since 2016.

During the probe, it was reportedly found that the main accused, Bhupinder Singh, had taken compensation of around Rs 24 crore for guava plantations for himself and his family. Mukesh Jindal, a resident of Bathinda, took compensation of about Rs 20 crore.

The Vigilance Bureau filed the chargesheet against five accused in a Mohali court on July 29, 2023. The first challan in the case was submitted against Bhupinder Singh, Binder Singh, Vishal Bhandari, Bacchitter Singh, Patwari and Mukesh Jindal.

Horticultural Development Officer Jaspreet Singh Sidhu, who was then posted at Kharar and Dera Bassi, was the last arrest made in the case on January 30, 2024.

The Vigilance Bureau report includes about 6,000 pages of documentary record to be testified by 33 witnesses in the case.

Some beneficiaries were given anticipatory bail in lieu of their offer to deposit 100 pe rcent of compensation amount by the High Court. Other accused also started availing parity.

The Vigilance Bureau then approached the Supreme Court challenging the bail orders of the High Court. After considering the facts, the Supreme Court issued notices to the accused respondents.

The High Court has ordered various accused beneficiaries to deposit a total amount of Rs 72.36 crore out of which Rs 43.72 crore was deposited till January 30.

A guava tree starts bearing fruit in a relatively shorter time span, around 3-4 years, compared to other fruit trees. It is alleged that it is for this reason that the accused, some of them from the horticulture department, chose to plant guava trees on the land which was later acquired by GMADA.

The compensation for the land having fruit-bearing trees is much more than that having normal trees.

The Vigilance Bureau FIR in the case states that "Around 2,000 to 2,500 trees per acre were planted whereas the PAU recommends only 132 trees per acre at the maximum. Hence, it proves that the trees were planted in 2016 with an intention to maximise the compensation amount rather than obtain fruit from them."

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