Cong alleges, Rs 350-crore land sold to pvt developer for just Rs 35 crore
The government admitted in Vidhan Sabha on Monday that the state Revenue Board had committed irregularities in handing over prime government land to private persons but said its hands were tied. “We can neither review the orders of the Revenue Board nor amend them. What we can do is to move the High Court, which we are doing,” revenue minister Umashankar Gupta told the House.
Alleging that top officers and even ministers were involved in the racket, Opposition Congress staged a walkout in protest against the government ‘inaction’.
Transfer of government land to ‘land mafias’ was raised in the House through three questions put up by Harsh Yadav, Kalusingh Thakur and Usha Choudhary. Congress members including Mahendra Singh Kalukheda and Govind Singh alleged that in Sagar, about 27 acres of nazul land, with a market value of over Rs 350 crore, were sold by the leaseholder to a property developer for just Rs 35 crore. The minister said the Revenue Board was a quasi-judicial body, the orders of which could neither be reviewed nor amended nor cancelled by the government.
Sagar advocate claims mayor partner in controversial deal
A Sagar-based advocate has claimed that Sagar mayor Abhay Dare was a partner in the controversial land deal struck by Subhagyodaya Developers, Sagar. Advocate Jagdev Singh Thakur told Free Press over phone that the agreement for the purchase of the land was registered in the office of the deputy registrar, Sagar on February 26, 2016.
According to it, the price of the land was 11,35, 20,000 and an advance payment of Rs 5 lakh was made. Besides Dare, the agreement was also signed by Rakesh Kumar Jain, Anand Jain and Sunil Jain, all residents of Sagar. Thakur said he sent complaints regarding the agreement to the CM, chief secretary, local MP, MLA and collector on February 1, 2016 (before the registration of the agreement) and on June 17, 2016. However, no action was taken. “My complaints were simply transferred to the CM Public Grievances Cell,” he said.
