India Today: Mohali: Wednesday, June 28, 2017.
A change of
guard in Punjab has resulted in skeletons tumbling out of closets which were
securely locked for a long, exposing the rot within.
After the
arrest of Surinderpal Singh, a former chief engineer of Greater Mohali Area
Development Authority (GMADA) last week in connection with unaccounted money
worth Rs 200 crore, the Vigilance Bureau has now tightened its noose around a gang
of corrupt Rural Development Department officers and a village headman who
allegedly siphoned off over Rs 54 crore
meant for development.
Investigations
done by India Today revealed that the state government had acquired land for
the airport way back in 2008 to construct new building of the international
airport. Besides the private land, it also acquired Panchayat land measuring 36
acres and community land (Shamlat Deh land) measuring 18 acres. Compensation of
land as per the revenue record was fixed at Rs 1.5 crore per acre.
Accordingly,
the authorities besides releasing the award money for the community land also
paid Rs 54.17 crore for the panchayat land. Panchayat records reveal the
department only released Rs 49.16 crore for the village development and the
remaining Rs 5 crore was spent on a government building in Bathinda on the
recommendation of a minister who had nothing to do with this village.
Panchayat
records show the village headman Gurpal Singh spent Rs 13.77 crores on village
road, 2 crematoriums and street lights. Some of the projects like sewerage and
play ground however, remain on papers. Village resident Lakhwinder Singh Sidhu,
whose 20 acre land was also acquired, told India Today that the total cost of
construction work is not beyond Rs 2.5
crore and the remaining public funds were siphoned off with the connivance of
government officers.
"The
amount spent on papers is inconsistent with the actual work done in the
village. The village headman Gurpal Singh has gone underground after the scam
came to light. He has purchased immovable properties besides a Toyota Fortuner
vehicle with the money," says Lakhwinder Singh Sidhu.
VILLAGE
HEADMAN BUYS LAND FROM PANCHAYAT FUNDS
Besides the
development works, the village headman in connivance with the officers of Department of Rural Development and Panchayat
also misused public funds worth Rs 23.73 crore in buying 26 acres besides other
chunks of land on behalf of village Panchayat in neighbouring Fatehgarh
district without seeking any nod from the state government, members and locals.
Prior approval to purchase any land from state government is mandatory under
section 85 (1) of Punjab Panchayati Raj Act, 1994.
The landscam
came to light when the locals accessed the land purchase documents through
Right to Information (RTI) Act. Surprisingly the land was purchased at a
whopping Rs 52 lakh per acre which is more than double the market rate and six
times higher than the collectorate rates.
"There
was no point to buy land from the public funds that too in other district. The
funds were misappropriated and no prior
approval of the house or stakeholders was sought. The land deal was fictitious
and the prices were inflated. All this was done to siphon off the funds. We
demand that the guilty officials and the village headman is booked and the
money is recovered from them," says
Sukhpreet Singh, another village resident.
LAND SCAM
ROCKS PUNJAB ASSEMBLY
The Mohali
Airport land scan also rocked the Punjab Assembly. Mohali MLA Balbir Singh
Sidhu raised the issue in the House and Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh
ordered a high-level probe into the alleged bungling. Balbir Singh Sidh said
the probe is being conducted by the Joint Director, Rural Development and
Panchayati Raj.
"This is
the biggest land scam which shows how the politicians, government officials and
village headman embezzled the public funds. The
value of the land purchased by violating
the laws is more than double. The chief minister had promised during the
elections that all scams will be probed in a transparent manner. I was also
approached by some people involved in the scam but we will go ahead and expose the guilty,"
says Balbir Singh Sidhu.
The locals,
however, believe that the probe by the officer of the same department may not
be impartial and instead the government should conduct a vigilance probe.