Ghaziabad: 10 property dealers sold GMC land set aside for CM project, finds panel

GHAZIABAD: A four-member committee set up by the Ghaziabad district magistrate to look into illegal sale of government land has identified 10 property dealers who allegedly sold plots earmarked for a project whose foundation stone was laid by the chief minister.

Many of the families who were sold the plots also built houses on them. The committee, which submitted its findings on October 6, has also recommended that Rs 3.5 crore be recovered from the accused property dealers to compensate 14 families whose houses were razed by the Ghaziabad Municipal Corporation (GMC) last year. It also said that the accused be booked under the Gangster’s Act. There are allegations that these property dealers connived with government officials to sell the plots right under their noses.

The illegal sale of government land in Shanti Nagar came to the fore in October last year, when GMC officials visited the site it had identified earlier for a political institute. The foundation stone of the institute was laid down by the chief minister in 2018 and the cabinet had approved the project at a cost of Rs 200 crore.

However, when surveyors went for an inspection of the site, they found a large section of the land had been encroached upon and some people had even built houses on them. On October 10 last year, GMC carried out a demolition drive. The houses of 14 families were razed on 741sqm, which the civic body needed first. The residents who were allegedly sold the plots by the 10 property dealers approached the district magistrate, who set up the committee to probe the irregularities. “The fraud was committed over years,” said GMC commissioner Mahendra Singh Tanwar.

The inspection also revealed that 101 houses had come up in total on 1.3 hectares of GMC land. “GMC conducted the demolition drive after the residents failed to produce relevant documents. We needed 741sqm in the beginning and 14 houses on it were razed,” Tanwar said.

“The cost of 741sqm is Rs 2.2 crore and that of the 14 buildings that were demolished Rs 1.3 crore. The committee has recommended that Rs 3.5 crore be recovered from the 10 land dealers and the families compensated,” he added.

Most of the villagers who fell into the land trap were migrant labourers. Since GMC hadn’t fenced the land or placed a signboard, the accused found it easier to pass off the plots as their own.

Asked if GMC officials were hand-in-glove with the property dealers, he said, “If anyone is found to have been involved, an FIR would be lodged against them.”

There are around 100 more families who have built houses on GMC land. The Ghaziabad tehsildar has been entrusted with the responsibility of lodging cases against anyone found guilty.