Gurgaon:
Robert Vadra, son-in-law of Congress president Sonia Gandhi, did not buy any land at below-market rates in Haryana, according to an official inquiry conducted by the Congress government in the state.
Mr Vadra has been accused of a slew of malpractices in his real estate transactions in Haryana, primarily by activist-turned-politician Arvind Kejriwal. Records show he bought over 150 acres in the state.
Earlier this month, senior bureaucrat Ashok Khemka ordered the Deputy Commissioners of four different districts in Haryana to determine "the real value" of all land bought and sold by Mr Vadra since 2005. Three days later, he was transferred out of the office of Director General Land Consolidation. The officer admitted he had been motivated partly by the allegations raised by Mr Kejriwal and the activists who support him and belong to the civil society group India Against Corruption (IAC).
Mr Khemka told NDTV today that the all-clear sounded by the Haryana government appears premature and that he believes that farmers' land was sold to Mr Vadra at throwaway prices. The Congress denied that, saying that the enquiry had been conducted by "responsible IAS officers."
On his last day in office, Mr Khemka cancelled a land deal that Mr Vadra struck with real estate giant DLF. Mr Vadra sold the company's 3.5 acres of land for Rs. 58 crore three months after he bought it, earning a whopping 50-crore profit.
The value of the land lies in a licence that was given to Mr Vadra that allowed a housing project to be built there. Mr Khemka, when canceling the deal, suggested that the licence was transferred to DLF without following guidelines, and that the eventual transfer of the land to the developer, which took place earlier this year, was sanctioned by an unauthorised official.
The Haryana government has refuted those allegations; a three-member committee has been given a month to study the Manesar deal.
But the BJP is crying foul and has once again demanded that a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe the allegations. "They themselves have allotted this. How can they say that it is wrong? I think there is no reason to believe this. I want to say that these cases should be investigated. People had demanded an SIT probe," BJP leader Rajnath Singh said today.
The land that Mr Vadra bought in Haryana that has been investigated and cleared by the government for being traded at fair prices includes:
- 74 acres in the Hasanpur village
- 29 acres in Ahikrpuri village
- 3.5 acres in Shikohpur near Manesar - the deal that has been cancelled by Mr Khemka
- And 52 acres in Faridabad