IMT land row: Govt asks GDA to probe - Hindustan Times
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IMT land row: Govt asks GDA to probe

Nov 22, 2019 09:41 PM IST

Ghaziabad: The Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) has started a probe against officials responsible for clearing layout plans of the Institute of Management Technology, Ghaziabad, by including a plot measuring 11,503 square yards, for which payment was never made to the authority.

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The GDA officials said directions were received from the state administration in September for conducting an inquiry within a month. Along with this direction, state officials also rejected IMT’s plea in which they contended that GDA’s notice, issued in May, for cancellation of said land should be rejected.

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The issue dates back to 1968 when about 54049 square yards of land was allotted by then Ghaziabad Improvement Trust but allotment for 11503 square yards plot got delayed. It was later allotted in April, 1978 and a demand for payment of Rs 19581 was raised in 1981. Several notices for demand were raised till as late as January 1994.

In between, the buildings plans of the entire land of IMT were also sanctioned as late as up to 2016. The state government has asked GDA to conduct inquiry and figure out names of officers who allowed approval of building plans.

GDA had sent a notice to IMT for allotment cancellation of the plot under dispute. The IMT later moved the Allahabad high court against the notice. The court on June 6 directed the UP officials to decide the issue.

The representations made by IMT were rejected by state officials in September and a detailed report was sent to GDA. The report included the dismissal of IMT’s plea and also stated that an inquiry was to be initiated against errant GDA officials.

“we received the order about the cancellation of IMT’s pleas but the letter somehow went missing. It mentions that an inquiry be initiated against officials who cleared map layouts of the 11503 square yards without looking into whether payments were made or not,” Santosh Kumar Rai, secretary, GDA, said.

“We have initiated an inquiry and the list of errant officials will soon be sent to the state government for further action. The pleas by IMT were rejected by the state in September but we have not yet proceeded to take possession of the disputed land. We have prepared a counter affidavit and will place the report before the court,” he added.

As of now, GDA maintains that restoration of the plot can be made as per a government order of 1999 but that can take place only on payment of 75% of the market rate or GDA’s current sector rate, whichever is higher.

The IMT representatives in their earlier pleas had maintained that the amount be charged at the original rate at which the land allotment was made, along with any late payment charges.

“The court will finally decide the issue once the GDA submits the report. The high court has already said that GDA will not take any coercive action till next date. So we are waiting for the hearing to take place,” said Asish K Bhattacharyya, director (IMT).

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  • ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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    Peeyush Khandelwal writes on a range of issues in western Uttar Pradesh – from crime, to development authorities and from infrastructure to transport. Based in Ghaziabad, he has been a journalist for almost a decade.

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