Despite protest by residents and a pending inquiry, the Haryana Urban Development Authority (Huda) has given possession of 25 acres of land to a private developer to build an amusement park in Sector 29.
Residents alleged that the prime land had been leased out to the developer at throwaway prices.
The ground levelling work on the 25 acres of land, bordering HUDA City Centre Metro station, has commenced and this has caused serious concern among residents.
Sources said residents were gearing up to hold another protest ever since they noticed earth-moving machines and a signboard erected on the site by the developer.
The state government had allotted 25 acres of land in Sector 29 and 33 acres in Sector 52A to a private sector bidder for 33 years on lease basis for Rs130 crore in 2010.
Sources said residents were worried that the amusement park, to come up in the middle of the city, would cause congestion problems in future. The issue came to the fore in August last year when local resident bodies took up the matter with the top brass of the Haryana government.
The resident welfare associations (RWA) representatives claimed that the government had changed the zonal plan of the area and also reduced the size of the proposed inter-state bus terminal. After intervention of the Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC), the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) had initiated an inquiry into allotment of this prime land, located in the heart of the city.
{{/usCountry}}The resident welfare associations (RWA) representatives claimed that the government had changed the zonal plan of the area and also reduced the size of the proposed inter-state bus terminal. After intervention of the Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC), the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) had initiated an inquiry into allotment of this prime land, located in the heart of the city.
{{/usCountry}}"We were shocked to see work commence at the site in Sector 29 where a signboard has also come up. How can HUDA lease out the land when the CVC has directed a probe into the issue. We are planning to hold a demonstration at the site soon. We were called for a meeting in Chandigarh in March, but no information was given to us on the matter," said TN Kaul, one of the RWA representatives present in the CVC meeting.
"We are upset that the Haryana government has allotted 25 acres of land to a private party for setting up an amusement park while many things of public utility are still pending," said a resident.
"Bus stand, parking sites, post offices, community centres etc are needed by Gurgaon residents. However, the government leased out the land to a private party. This won't be tolerated."