Allotment of industrial plots: Punjab Vigilance seeks wide-ranging probe into politician-official-land mafia nexus

In fresh trouble for Punjab Small Industries and Export Corporation (PSIEC), the Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) has recommended an extensive enquiry into the alleged irregularities in the allotment, regularisation, and bifurcation of industrial plots to break the nexus between politicians, officials, and land mafia.

In fresh trouble for Punjab Small Industries and Export Corporation (PSIEC), the Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) has recommended an extensive enquiry into the alleged irregularities in the allotment, regularisation, and bifurcation of industrial plots to break the nexus between politicians, officials, and land mafia.

During the conduct of this enquiry, a ‘toll-free helpline’ may be set up with due publicity to encourage persons affected by these irregularities to come forward to register their grievances, the letter said. (Representational Image)

The recommendation was made by VB chief director Varinder Kumar in a communication to chief secretary VK Janjua last week, stating that since scams and irregularities in PSIEC have wider ramifications that cannot be looked into by stand-alone enquiries, the “extensive enquiry under a competent officer” may be ordered to probe all the aspects of irregularities. During the conduct of this enquiry, a ‘toll-free helpline’ may be set up with due publicity to encourage persons affected by these irregularities to come forward to register their grievances, it said. HT has seen the letter.

3 separate probes in last five years

The bureau, which has suggested the wide-ranging probe, registered one FIR and two enquiries into the alleged irregularities in the allotment and bifurcation of industrial plots by PSIEC in the past five years. On January 5 this year, a case (FIR No 1) was registered against former minister Sunder Sham Arora, one IAS officer and 10 other officials in connection with “wrong bifurcation” of a 25-acre plot in Industrial Focal Point Mohali to allegedly benefit realtor firm Gulmohar Township Private Limited and causing a huge loss to the state exchequer. In April 2018, the bureau started a vigilance enquiry into the alleged misuse of position by PSIEC officers and recommended the registration of a case under the Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act against PSIEC officials. However, necessary sanction was not given by the industries and commerce department, according to the letter. Persons familiar with the matter said there was inconsistency in the procedure followed by the bureau in these two cases, pointing out that while the 2018 matter was not pursued for want of sanction, the January 5 FIR was registered without taking prior approval for conducting the investigation from the government under Section 17A of the PC Act. The Punjab IAS Officers’ Association was upset over the FIR and even took up the matter with the chief minister, seeking action against the vigilance officers for “not following the procedures”. The VB has, however, stuck to its stand that no prior approval was required in the instant case. The documents were changed and tinkered with, which was also confirmed by forensic analysis, said a bureau official, who did not wish to be identified. A vigilance enquiry initiated on June 16, 2021, into allegations of fake allotment of industrial plots is also under process.

How the nexus worked

The VB, while referring to the real-estate boom in Mohali due to the development of the IT sector, has pointed towards the alleged nexus between officials, politicians, land mafia and the so-called real estate agents in the garb of industrialists that emerged due to the high cost of industrial plots in the focal points of the corporation. They connived with each other to reap the benefits of ill-gotten and easy money deceiving innocent and genuine industrialists, it said.

Modus operandi

According to the bureau, the alleged modus operandi included allotment of costly plots in the name of relatives and friends, etc instead of genuine industrialists; allotment to bogus applicants; sharing data of genuine industrial allottees, who were not able to pay instalments due to demonetization and Covid with unscrupulous persons; regularisation of plots at old rates instead of the prevailing market rates; adding names of new allottees in partnership deeds through forged deeds and transferring 100% share to new allottees illegally; and illegal bifurcation of plots. The changing dates of allotment and considering the intervening period as a ‘zero period’ for the purpose of calculating the extension fee applicable has also been questioned.