Sonepat-Kharkhoda Industrial Model Township land case being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against Bhupinder Singh Hooda. This under-investigation scam pertains to acquisition of 700 acre land in 3 villages near Kharkhoda in Sonepat district for the Industrial Model Township..Hooda under investigation by CBI in several cases, Navbharat Times, 13 Mar 2018. Punjab and Haryana High Court in March 2013 and the Supreme Court of India in May 2016 had cancelled the government's decision to release land to the private builder. Two senior officials in then Chief Minister Hooda's office were indicted for allegedly favouring the developers. Subsequently, in 2018 the Government of Haryana referred the case to CBI to investigate the against Hooda and others.
Details Modus of scam
Ashok Khemka, a senior Indian Administrative Service officer in of Haryana known for exposing corruption and for cancelling the mutation of Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law Robert Vadra's illegal land deal in Gurgaon, had written to Chief Minister and Chief Secretary of Haryana to seek the CBI investigation, with the findings that both Rohtak and Sonipat land scams were more blatant than the Manesar scam.Govt was alerted about Rohtak, Sonipat land acquisition scams 15 months ago, Times of India, 14 Mar 2018. In 2005, Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC) notified 885 acres for acquisition for housing colony for industrial workers in sectors 59 and 60 of Sonipat, out of which 300-acre land was illegally released to a private builder.
418 acres in Sonipat was released from acquisition in the same way as it was done in Gurugram-Manesar IMT land scam Manesar during Hooda’s administration.More trouble for Bhupinder Singh Hooda: Rohtak, Sonipat land takeover cases go to CBI, Indian Express, 14 Mar 2018. 642 acres of land in 5 villages was notified for acquisition for developing residential and commercial sectors, by Haryana Urban Development Authority, and a notification was issued on 16 January 2004 to acquire 623.70 acres resulting in sales of land by farmers to builders at throwaway prices under the threat of acquisition. Once 418 acre of notified land was acquired by builders at throwaway prices, this was denotified and released from the acquisition, resulting in the illegal windfall gains for the builders at the expense of farmers.
Current status: CBI inquiry Subsequently, in March 2018 the Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar BJP's Government of Haryana referred the case to CBI to conduct further investigation against Hooda and others.CBI to probe two more Hooda govt land deals, The Tribune (India), 14 Mar 2018.Bhupinder Singh Hooda in the docks? Rohtak, Sonipat land cases handed over to CBI , NewsX, 14 Mar 2018.Two more land acquisition cases during Cong rule given to CBI: Khattar, Webindia, 13 Mar 2018. Supreme Court had also ordered Haryana Government to take action on the Dhingra Commission's report, set up to investigate grant of land licences, so that "pending issues could be cracked".
See also Corruption in India National Herald scam Rajiv Gandhi Charitable Trust land grab cases Robert Vadra land grab cases List of scams in India
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