Haryana Government on Friday granted eight-week more time to Justice SN Dhingra Commission, which was set up to probe land deals involving Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s son-in-law Robert Vadra, to complete the investigation and submit its report.
Talking to the mediapersons on Friday, Haryana CM Manohar lal Khattar confirmed that the term of the Commission has been extended for two more months. A day before on the last date of its deadline to submit the inquiry report, Justice Dhingra had sought six more weeks to probe the land deals in Gurgaon.
“Following a request from him seeking more time for probe, the State has given him time so that he could properly look into all aspects, because it would create problem if any new issue comes up in the end,” said Khattar.
The CM also rejected Vadra's allegation that the BJP is targeting him for political gain. He said, “On the basis of some legitimate facts, the State Government had constituted this Commission last year.” The Congress reaction even before the submission of the report makes one “suspect that something is not right,” he added.
The Congress is raising objections to the commission more than a year after it was set up, said he adding that the facts in the matter will become clear once the panel submits its report. The one-man panel was set up by the Khattar Government in May 2015 to probe issues pertaining to grant of development licences to companies including Sky light Hospitality owned by Robert Vadra in Gurgaon’s Sector 83.
The panel was given six months to complete the probe.
Since the scope of inquiry was later widened from one sector to more (78 to 86) on the request of the state government, the term of the commission was extended by another six months from December 8, 2015, to June 7, 2016. It was in June again that the commission sought another extension of three weeks up to June 30.
Notably, the Comptroller and Auditor General report tabled in state Assembly last year had blamed the previous Congress led Haryana Government for giving undue favours to Vadra in his multi-million rupee controversial land deal with real estate player DlF.
The CAG had pointed out that Vadra's firm, Skylight Hospitality, had not submitted documents on financial adequacy. Despite that, the firm was granted a licence.
Vadra’s Skylight Hospitality Pvt ltd had made huge profit on the sale of a plot of land to DlF after he had obtained the change of land use for the same. Skylight Hospitality, had sold a prime 3.5 acre piece of land in Gurgaon district to DlF in 2008 for Rs 58 crore.
Apart from Vadra’s company, the Commission is also examining other real estate companies which benefited because of alleged irregularities.