Kharar horticulture development officer arrested in guava tree compensation scam

Digging deeper into the multi-crore guava tree compensation scam, the Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) on Wednesday arrested the Kharar horticulture development officer (HDO), Vaishali.

This is the 17th arrest in the scam wherein compensation worth crores was wrongfully claimed in lieu of land acquired by GMADA at Mohali’s Bakarpur village.

Revealing this, an official VB spokesperson said the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) had acquired land for development of Aerotropolis project alongside Airport Road in Mohali.

As per the acquisition policy, compensation against land acquired was to be provided in accordance with GMADA’s Land Pooling Policy.

Value of fruit trees attached to the land was to be paid in addition to the value of the land, and the trees’ value was to be determined by the department of horticulture.

Subsequently, the GMADA land acquisition collector (LAC) sent a fruit tree survey list to the horticulture director, requesting to prepare an assessment report.

The spokesperson said firstly, assessment work of “Pocket A” (Bakarpur village) was marked by deputy director, Mohali, to the Dera Bassi HDO, Jaspreet Singh Sidhu, whereas this area fell in the jurisdiction of the Kharar HDO.

Sidhu submitted his assessment report, considering 2,500 plants per acre, that too of Category 1 and 2. This report was further sent to the GMADA LAC to release payments accordingly.

However, some landowners filed applications that their plants had not been assessed rightly and claimed enhanced compensation. On the basis of these applications, the horticulture director constituted a state-level committee to verify this report.

The committee comprised two assistant directors and two HDOs. The committee suggested reassessment of plants as per classification of orchards according to health and yield.

Thereafter, assessment of Pocket A was assigned to Kharar HDO Vaishali, who submitted her report, which was almost similar to the first report, suggesting most plants as fruit yielding (4-5 years of age) so that maximum possible compensation could be passed on to the beneficiaries, he added.

On the basis of her report, around ₹145 crore were released as compensation, the spokesperson said, adding that Vaishali had been absconding since the registration of FIR and her anticipatory bail was dismissed by a sessions court in Mohali.

Her bail petition was also pending before the Punjab and Haryana high court that had not allowed her any interim relief.

Further investigation is underway to determine roles of other officials of the horticulture department, he added.

Modus operandi

As per the Vigilance Bureau, the accused were aware of the extra benefit provided in lieu of fruit trees planted on land being acquired by GMADA. Hence, they purchased land in the area under acquisition and connivingly planted guava trees on them.

Further, in collusion with officials of GMADA, and revenue and horticultural departments, they wrongfully secured crores as compensation by claiming that the saplings were planted since 2016, thereby causing significant loss to the exchequer. As per VB officials, the scam is pegged at over ₹100 crore.

As many as 35 people have been named as accused in the case. Initially, the FIR was registered against 18 people, but during investigation, names of 17 more people were included. They are facing charges under Sections 409, 420, 465, 466, 468, 471 and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code and Sections 13 (1) (a) and 13 (2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has also sought records of compensation as well as the details of bank accounts of all compensation beneficiaries.