E-Paper
UP cabinet removes hurdles holding up Phase 4 of Delhi-Meerut Expressway
Ghaziabad: After being rapped by Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the delay in handing over land for the Delhi-Meerut Expressway (DME) project, the Uttar Pradesh
Ghaziabad: After being rapped by Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the delay in handing over land for the Delhi-Meerut Expressway (DME) project, the Uttar Pradesh cabinet Tuesday approved the proposal for action against officials for alleged irregularities in acquisition of land.
The cabinet also decided to cancel the sale deeds which were effected after a notification for land acquisition was issued under the National Highways Act, 1956.
During the ‘Pragati’ review meeting on November 6, the state officials had given an assurance to Modi that land will be handed over to National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) within a month.
The land in question is about 19 hectares and belongs to four villages of Dasna, Rasoolpur Sikrod, Kushaliya and Nahal. The land parcel is required for the completion of DME’s Phase 4 — a 32km stretch from Dasna to Meerut.
UP government spokesmen Siddharthnath Singh and Shrikant Sharma said then divisional commissioner (Meerut) Prabhat Kumar had submitted a report in September 2019 and recommended a Central Bureau of Investigation inquiry into the matter. Kumar’s probe had put two former Ghaziabad district magistrates under scanner.
“A legal process for cancellation of sale deeds that were executed after the issuance of a notification under Section 3D of the NH Act, 1956, will be taken up. The prevalent action taken up against officials involved will continue... if any action has not been taken up as yet against officials/staff, disciplinary action process will be instituted,” the UP government said in a statement.
The sources said the move by the UP government will help expedite disbursal of compensation to the original land owners and will also help NHAI to get physical possession of the land.
The alleged irregularities in sale/purchase of the said land parcel came to light in 2017 when farmers approached Kumar with complaints alleging that certain officials, who were posted in Ghaziabad, allegedly connived with private persons and purchased land after the issuance a land acquisition notification in 2012.
According to officials, sale/purchase of land is not allowed once the notification is issued. Further, cases were also sent for arbitration and the final settlement was done up to six times the normal land rate.
Kumar in his final inquiry report also put under scanner the role of two former Ghaziabad district magistrates who took up arbitration of these cases. Kumar recommended a detailed inquiry by an agency like the CBI as the case involved financial irregularities as well as criminal intent.
He had also recommended action against NHAI officials and stated that they did not oppose the arbitration cases.
The NHAI refuted this. “We did oppose the cases during arbitration but did not challenge the arbitration amount which was as per norms. It is not our role to find out if the arbitration amount was decided in favour of a genuine person or not. If the move of cancellation of sale deeds under question is taken up, we expect that we will be able to get physical possession of land soon,” RP Singh, project director (NHAI), said.
Ghaziabad district magistrate Ajay Shankar Pandey was not available for comment.
The phase 4 is about 58% complete and is presently held up due to a ban on construction activities by the Supreme Court in the wake of rising air pollution.
