Madhya Pradesh High Court on Tuesday directed Gammon India ltd to deposit Rs 6.25 crore as stamp duty for the 15 acres land at South TT Nagar here that was transferred to the private company for the redensification project of the State Government
The court gave the directive after rejecting the appeal filed by the company earlier this year. In the appeal, the company had challenged an order issued by the District Registrar on April 12 to deposit the stamp duty regarding transfer of the land worth nearly Rs 338 crore.
Notably, the matter was raised earlier by Right to Information (RTI) activist Devendra Prakash Mishra who had filed a petition in the court alleging that the company was unduly favoured by the State Government. He had alleged that the company was made to pay only Rs 30 instead of Rs 41 crore as stamp duty and registration fees for the land which was transferred to it. The court had also directed the Government to file a reply on the allegations. It was after this that the District Registrar took action and issued notice to the company for depositing Rs 6.25 crore as stamp duty.
Devendra informed The Pioneer that the Government had favoured the company by issuing notice only for depositing Rs 6.25 crore which is much lower that what is legally required. “The rules say that in case of default in payment of stamp duty, a penalty is imposed which is ten times the default amount. However, the notice by District Registrar had directed it to pay Rs 6.25 crore and also to explain its position. There was an understanding between the Government and the company under which it filed the appeal,” he claimed.
The company was transferred the land in February 2008 by the then district Collector RK Mathur. later, the company transferred the land to one Deepmala Constructions ltd.
This has led to considerable controversy and the main opposition party in the state assembly also raised it in the House on several occasions.