UNDERSTANDING THE RACKET

The Manesar land release case was referred for a probe to the CBI by the BJP government in Haryana in 2015. It is one of the four land-related matters pertaining to the tenure of the previous Congress government, which was referred by the BJP government to the central agency for investigation. Hitender Rao dissects the issue:

How much land was bought by real estate developers?

It’s alleged that after acquisition process started, realtors colluded with officials to buy 400 acres at throwaway prices by creating panic that it will be acquired by state for measly sums. Farmers sold at rates of ~20-25 lakh an acre, totalling to Rs 100 crore; while market value was ~4 crore an acre, totalling to about ~1,600 crore, says the CBI.

Why was the land set free from acquisition process?

The land, it is alleged, was released to favour real estate developers who bought chunks from farmers of Gurgaon district. Once the land was free, the builders applied for licences to develop real estate projects. Had it not been released, the real estate developers would not have been able to use it for building projects.

What was the role of the Supreme Court in the matter?

A special leave petition (SLP) was filed in the SC in 2015, challenging the 2014 order of Punjab and Haryana HC. The petitioners, mainly farmers, challenged the orders on the ground that it had failed to consider the actions of the state government as the withdrawal of notifications for acquisition were an abuse of the Land Acquisition Act. The SC, after concluding the arguments, had reserved the order on April 12, 2017.