Bill to validate land de-licensing passed
CHANDIGARH: With an aim to grant legitimacy to past actions of town and country planning department since 1975, including de-licensing of land, the Haryana assembly on Wednesday passed a bill to amend and validate the Haryana Development and Regulation of Urban Areas (HDRUA) Act.
The amendment and validation bill, if assented to by the governor, would come as a relief to the developers of the Gurugrambased Ambience Mall besides several similar cases involving de-licensing of land.
The Punjab and Haryana high court had in July quashed the TCP department’s October 18, 2001 and September 1, 2010 orders to de-license two chunks of land (eight acres and 3.9 acres) out of 18.98 acres approved for constructing Ambience Lagoon Island residential complex. The de-licensed land was then permitted by the department for raising a commercial complex, the Ambience Mall. De-licensing here meant that a part of the land for which a residential licence was issued was taken out of the purview of the residential licence. On HC’s orders, the CBI had also registered a criminal case in the matter. Officials said over 54 similar cases of de-licensing were detected by the department after the HC ruling, which needed to be validated.
‘DE-LICENSING A MISNOMER’
The high court, however, had termed the term de-licensing a misnomer in the context of the Act and the case at hand.
The HC bench said that state counsel had candidly admitted that there was no such provision in the Act. “He tried to justify this Act by referring to clause 21 of the General Clauses Act that power
to grant a licence also contains implied power to de-license as well. We, however, find the argument bereft of any merit or logic,” the HC said.
“Ignoring all statutory provisions and throwing caution to wind, the authorities acted more promptly than expected. The order granting permission on eight acres to build a commercial complex was passed on October 16, 2001, two days before the order to de-license the same area was passed. This showed a preconceived plan for a commercial complex to be raised within the area licensed for residential complex,” the bench said while ordering CBI probe.
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In the garb of pandemic, corruption flourished in Haryana. We demand an independent probe into the land registration scam. BHUPINDER SINGH HOODA,
CLP leader
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Koi doodh ka dhulaa nahin, naa abhi wale, naa pehle wale. (No one is innocent, neither the present government, nor the previous one).
RAM KUMAR GAUTAM,
JJP leader
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Either accept (Bhupinder Singh) Hooda’s decision (taken in BAC meeting) or declare that you don’t accept him (Hooda) as your leader. KANWAR PAL, parliamentary affairs minister, to Cong MLAs