Anti Corruption Branch Chief MK Meena has ordered an enquiry against senior bureaucrat Chetan B Sanghi for allegedly violating rules by converting DDA land from leasehold to freehold in the national Capital. The complaint filed by an advocate and RTI activist Vivek Garg before ACB has alleged that Sanghi, who had in March 2006 passed a scheme for conversion of industrial plots / built up sheds from leasehold to freehold.
The scheme reportedly covered all built up industrial plots developed by the industries department and the Delhi State Industrial Development Corporation ltd (DSIDC), including industrial sheds, belonging to the DDA, and which were allotted to DSIDC on leasehold basis. Sanghi was at that time was holding the charge of DSIIDC. He is currently Principal Secretary (Industries). Sanghi is also holding the charge of Principal Secretary (PWD) and Urban Development department.
The complaint said during a meeting in 2009 in the chamber of the then industries minister, it was decided that the DSIDC would make a formal reference to the DDA for all the eight industrial areas in lawrence Road, DSIDC sheds in Nangloi, Mangolpuri, Okhla (Part I and II), Kirti Nagar, Jhilmil, Wazirpur and Narela. It said that as per the information, no formal reference was made by the DSIDC to the DDA.
Garg said that when Sanghi was the DSUIDC CMD during 2011-12, 350 industrial sheds in seven industrial areas were converted from leasehold to freehold in a highly “irregular” manner for obtaining “wrongful gains”. He alleged that the malafide intention and role of Sanghi as the CMD-DSIDC on the entire issue needed to be investigated as the decisions were taken by him unilaterally in violation of laws and procedures without taking approval of the DDA and Raj Niwas.
The complaint said since the sheds were constructed by the DSIDC on the land allotted to it by the DDA on leasehold basis. “The ownership of the said land remained with the DDA only. As the DSIDC is only the lessee, hence it had no legal authority to allow conversion from leasehold to freehold of the said sheds.”
Garg said the DSIDC in a meeting with the DDA on April 23 this year had admitted that about 250 more cases of conversion of industrial sheds were pending with the former and the same had been put on hold as it was not competent to carry out conversion process.The complaint alleged that the ownership of the land remained with the DDA as the DSIDC had constructed industrial sheds without seeking any approval from the lG. It said that the DSIDC went ahead to carry out the conversion of 360 sheds from leasehold to freehold from 2010 onwards on the land actually allotted by the DDA to the DSIDC on leasehold basis only.
“These 360 cases also include 16 double storey sheds for which there is no policy of conversion of double storey/ multistory industrial sheds/ flats and properties in the industrial department / DSIDC. All these unlawful acts were done by the nexus of corrupt officials for obtaining wrongful gains by abusing their official positions.”