The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has accused the former Congress-led Haryana government of favoring Congress President Sonia Gandhi’s son-in-law, Robert Vadra, in his land deal with real estate giant DLF.
A recent CAG report reveals that Vadra made a massive profit on the sale of a plot of land to DLF after he had obtained the change of land use for the plot. The report was sent to Haryana Government in this March after it was signed by CAG Shashi Kant Sharma.
In its report for the year 2013-14, tabled in the Haryana Assembly yesterday, the official auditor has come down heavily on the Town and Country Planning Department.
The BJP and other Congress rivals had trained their guns on the previous Bhupinder Singh Hooda government accusing it of showing favours to Robert Vadra, the son-in-law of Congress President Sonia Gandhi, in his land deal with realty giant DLF.
Though the report did not name Vadra, his company, Skylight Hospitality, was named.
The CAG Report Says
- In 2008, Skylight Hospitality sold a prime 3.5 acre piece of land in Gurgaon to DLF for Rs 58 crore. These licences were sold at a massive premium to earn Rs 267.47 crore.
- The profit of Rs 215.21 crore wasn’t shared with the government in spite of an agreement to split any gains beyond 15%.
- The developers earned huge profit merely by selling the land, while the government had to forgo sizeable amount.
- The possibility of extending undue benefit to a particular applicant (Vadra’s company) cannot be ruled out.
- The Haryana exchequer made huge losses due to sale of licences by these firms and inaction of the department of town and country planning.
- The Haryana government should make the procedure for granting colony licences more transparent
Everything had occurred in the framework and guidelines of the policy of the department and in accordance with law.
- Bhupinder Hooda, Former Haryana CM
The CAG report named four other companies which made profits in a similar fashion during the same period.
a. Sun Star Builders Pvt Ltd
b. Witness Construction Pvt Ltd
c. Botil Oil Tools India Pvt Ltd
d. Uppal Housing Pvt Ltd
The case had shot into limelight after IAS officer Ashok Khemka had declared the deal illegal and scrapped it. He tweeted after the report was tabled.
The draft report of the CAG had last year directed the State Government to seek a refund of Rs 41.51 crore from Robert Vadra for the money he made on the DLF deal, as reported by The Hindu.
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