An investigation by news channel Headlines Today reveals that Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s son-in-law Robert Vadra violated land rules in Haryana to acquire lands and then resell at a premium. Amipur village - 30 km from Delhi - in Haryana has turned out to be a happy hunting ground for Vadra because bountiful land in the village has been sold dirt cheap and then resold at a premium.
It’s in Amipur that Vadra struck four land deals with one seller - Harbans Lal Pahwa. In total, the Vadras bought 46 acres of land at Amipur village in Faridabad, only to sell it back to Pahwa at a premium.
The deals were in direct violation of the Haryana Ceiling on Land Holdings Act, 1972.
First, on 8 Sept, 2005, Vadra bought 12 acres of land in Faridabad’s Amipur village from Harbans Lal Pahwa. The cost of the land was over Rs.32 lakh. On 14 April, 2006, Vadra bought 10 more acres of land from the same land dealer for Rs.30 lakh. On 30 January the same year Vadra bought another 19 acres in Amipur village from Harbans Lal Pahwa. This time the cost was Rs.54 lakh. On 28 April, 2006 Vadra’s wife Priyanka Gandhi struck a deal with Pahwa buying 5 acres in Amipur village for Rs.15 lakh.
The deals are in violation of law as 46 acres of land bought by Vadras are much higher than the maximum land holdings sanctioned under the Haryana Ceiling on Land Holdings Act, 1972. The Act states that permissible area that can be possessed by one person or his family is a maximum of 26.9 acres of agricultural land.
‘The ownership of the land beyond permissible limits vests in the hands of the state government. The surplus land has to be distributed among Dalits and poor,’ clarifies Anupam Gupta, a lawyer from Chandigarh. Therefore, the extra 20 acres in possession of Vadra belonged to the government.
What is raising eyebrows is not just the violation of the Land Ceiling Act, but the curious manner in which Vadra sold the land back to the original seller.
Less than five years later, the buyer becomes the seller and the seller turns into the buyer. The entire 46 acres was bought by the land dealer Pahwa, in three installments and at double the price.
It’s in Amipur that Vadra struck four land deals with one seller - Harbans Lal Pahwa. In total, the Vadras bought 46 acres of land at Amipur village in Faridabad, only to sell it back to Pahwa at a premium.
The deals were in direct violation of the Haryana Ceiling on Land Holdings Act, 1972.
First, on 8 Sept, 2005, Vadra bought 12 acres of land in Faridabad’s Amipur village from Harbans Lal Pahwa. The cost of the land was over Rs.32 lakh. On 14 April, 2006, Vadra bought 10 more acres of land from the same land dealer for Rs.30 lakh. On 30 January the same year Vadra bought another 19 acres in Amipur village from Harbans Lal Pahwa. This time the cost was Rs.54 lakh. On 28 April, 2006 Vadra’s wife Priyanka Gandhi struck a deal with Pahwa buying 5 acres in Amipur village for Rs.15 lakh.
The deals are in violation of law as 46 acres of land bought by Vadras are much higher than the maximum land holdings sanctioned under the Haryana Ceiling on Land Holdings Act, 1972. The Act states that permissible area that can be possessed by one person or his family is a maximum of 26.9 acres of agricultural land.
‘The ownership of the land beyond permissible limits vests in the hands of the state government. The surplus land has to be distributed among Dalits and poor,’ clarifies Anupam Gupta, a lawyer from Chandigarh. Therefore, the extra 20 acres in possession of Vadra belonged to the government.
What is raising eyebrows is not just the violation of the Land Ceiling Act, but the curious manner in which Vadra sold the land back to the original seller.
Less than five years later, the buyer becomes the seller and the seller turns into the buyer. The entire 46 acres was bought by the land dealer Pahwa, in three installments and at double the price.