Haryana Chief Minister Manohar lal on Friday said that the State Government has entrusted the power to grant change of land use (ClU) and other permissions to the Director, Town and Country Planning Department, from November 1 onwards.
“Earlier, all such cases were presented before the Chief Minister in the name of internal concurrence,” said he while adddressing the one-day special Swarna Jayanti session of the Haryana Vidhan Sabha.
Pointing towards the land scams during previous Congress Government’s regime in Haryana, he said that this practice of powers with Chief Minister continued up to 2014-15 which brought the State a bad name. Now, Director of the Town and Country Planning Department has the right to grant such permissions, said Manohar lal.
A day after claiming to have completed the inquiry report into the alleged land deals involving Congress chief Sonia Gandhi’s son-in-law Robert Vadra in Haryana, Justice SN Dhingra sprang a surprise on Thursday seeking more time to complete the probe into the matter.
Notably, the one-man commission headed by Justice SN Dhingra, probing into the controversial land deals involving Congress chief Sonia Gandhi’s son-in-law Robert Vadra in Haryana, had pointed out irregularities in grant of licences and land allotment in its report submitted to the State Government in August.
Apart from this, an inquiry by Central Bureau of investigation is ongoing into land deals that took place during previous Bhupinder Singh Hooda led Congress Government in the State.
The Chief Minister said that the Haryana Development and Regulation of Urban Area Act had been passed by the House in 1975 under which powers for the grant of licence and ClU permissions rested with the Director, Town and Country Planning Department.
On a suggestion from the Directorate in 1991, powers for the grant of ClU and licences were given to the Chief Minister in the name of internal concurrence. In 1996 and again in 2005-06, the Directorate had submitted a proposal to give such powers to the Director of the Department but the Chief Minister’s Office spurned the proposal, he said.
He also informed the House that a scheme is being prepared to ensure that the youth of Haryana get maximum job opportunities in both Government and private sector.
He lamented the fact that transfers had earlier become a business in the State. “To ensure transparency in the transfer of teachers, we have implemented a unique transfer policy so that teachers are not required to come to Chandigarh with their requests,” he said.
Urging the political parties to stand united in the interest of the state by rising above party lines, and refrain from adopting an aggressive attitude towards the present dispensation just for the sake of playing politics, the Chief Minister said that the demands of all Assembly constituencies concerning development works had been received during the session, and all these would be examined and taken up on a priority basis.
Referring to the swarna jayanti of the state, the Chief Minister said the State Government has set its vision for the future of Haryana. Though various leaders and personalities had played a vital role in the formation of Haryana as a separate state, and its growth, but the real credit should go to the people of the state, he said.
Manohar lal also said that the State Government has ensured ease of doing business in the State to attract leading industries to set up units and the present industries to expand their base. Haryana which was at 14th position
has now reached fifth position in the ease of doing business index, said he.
The Chief Minister said that the matter was sub judice. However, the Government has clearly stated its intention, he added.