Dubious Gurgaon land deals under scanner

The commission set up by the government under Justice SN Dhingra (<g data-gr-id="26">retd</g>.) in May 2015 will now probe the grant of all licences to colonisers and individuals in four villages of Gurgaon by the previous Congress government led by Bhupinder Singh Hooda.

The four villages are <g data-gr-id="27">Sihi</g>, Shikohpur, Kherki Daula and Sikanderpur Bada, where Gurgaon's Sector 78 to 86 are now situated. The Haryana cabinet took the decision at a meeting held in New Delhi on Saturday night just before Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar left for a 10-day trip to the United States and Canada to attract investments in the state.

The BJP government in May ordered a "probe into issues concerning the grant of licence (s) for developing commercial colonies by the Department of Town and Country Planning, Haryana, to some entities in Sector 83, Gurgaon".

The one-man commission will also probe the grant of licences by the Hooda government to Congress president Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law Robert Vadra's company and other firms for developing commercial properties in Gurgaon's Sector 83. The Dhingra commission had pointed out that earlier terms of reference were hindering its probe into the grant of licences. 

The commission is headed by the retired Delhi high court judge. Former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda recently told a news agency that there was nothing amiss in the grant of licences for developing colonies. "Everything was done as per the rules. There was no wrongdoing by our government," Hooda had said. The commission would also probe the subsequent transfer or disposal of land, allegations of private enrichment, ineligibility of beneficiaries under the rules, and other connected matters.

Vadra and others were allegedly granted favours by the previous Congress government. In Vadra's case, the licences were allegedly issued within a short time. The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) had pointed out that Vadra's firm, Skylight Hospitality, had not submitted documents on financial adequacy. Despite that, the firm was granted a licence.