Probe panel’s clean chit to land deal

SIKANDERPUR An inquiry report on the sale of a plot of land near Sector 26 has found that there was no violation of norms, RTI activist, however, wants a highlevel inquiry

GURUGRAM: An inquiry report on the alleged misappropriation of a 3,000-square-yard panchayat land in Sikandeprur near Sector 26 — where a petrol pump is presently operating — has concluded that there was no violation of norms during the sale of land, although the Haryana government had initially objected to the setting up of such a facility there.

The state’s development and panchayats department had on March 2001 also served a notice to the pump owners to clarify as to why the land lease should not be cancelled. The panchayat had leased out the land to Janta Filling Station in December 1999 for 20 years.

The inquiry was conducted by Gurugram zila parishad deputy CEO Rishi Dangi on the orders of the deputy commissioner’s office, which in turn received an order from the chief minister’s office on June 15 this year. Harinder Dhingra, a DLF Phase 1 resident and an RTI activist, had filed a complaint regarding the matter at the chief minister’s office.

According to the report submitted by Dangi to the deputy commissioner’s office on August 8 (a copy of which is with HT) after receiving the notice from the development and panchayats department in March 2001, the petrol pump owners appeared before the authorities and appealed that since much cost had been incurred on setting up the petrol pump and many people were employed there, “it would be injustice to close it down(sic)”.

Following their appeal, a meeting of district administration officials was held on July 1, 2002, in which it was decided that the said land could be sold to the owners at the market rate. The proposal was cleared on December 9, 2002 and the said land was sold for ₹90 lakh to the petrol pump owners on June 17, 2003.

“The sale deeds happened as per norms and there was no violation. Earlier also, an inquiry was held in 2003 but nothing came out,” Sharad Goel, the petrol pump and land owner, had said earlier. In the report, Dangi concluded that the land deal happened with approval of the development and panchayats department and, as such, “there was no violation of norms.”

Dhingra, however, shot off a letter to the CMO alleging that Dangi had requested to bail him out of the situation as he was under pressure from a senior officer to give him a clean chit in the report. Dhingra also enclosed a cheque of ₹1.51 lakh for the government to encash, if his complaint was found to be frivolous. Dangi did not respond on the matter. He picked up a call but said he was busy and did not respond to calls after that.