The Supreme Court has ordered a CBI probe into the release of land in Rohtak to a real estate developer, Uddar Gagan Properties Limited, during Congress rule under former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda.
The three-judge bench of Justice Uday Umesh Lalit, Justice Ajay Rastogi and Justice Aniruddha Bose passed this order.
In March 2005, Uddar Gagan Properties Limited (UGPL) entered into collaboration agreements with some farmers, whose land was being acquired for the development of a colony. UGPL applied for a licence to develop a colony on 280 acres, which were granted by the town and country planning director in June 2006 and the corresponding land was released from acquisition.
Later execution of sale deeds in favour of the builder through the power-of-attorney holder of the landowners since the licences were addressed to the owners but remitted to the builder. The Apex Court in May 2016 quashed the land released from acquisition and transferred the developer’s licences to Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA). The Court had further asked the state government to inquire into the legality and bona fides of the action of the persons responsible for illegally entertaining the applications of the builder and releasing the land to it.
On March 13, 2018, the Haryana government decided to refer the Uddar Gagan matter to the CBI. An inquiry by a retired judge was later ordered by Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar. It is pertinent to note that about 850 acres were proposed to be acquired in 2002 for residential and commercial sectors in HUDA. The award was passed for 422 acres in April 2005.