Probe into sale of panchayat land in Gurugram’s Sikanderpur

The district administration has initiated a probe into the sale of a 3,000-square-yard “panchayat land” in Gurugram’s Sikanderpur area in Sector 26, where a petrol pump is currently operating.

The land, as per official records, is marked as Gair Mumkin Pahad (uncultivable waste land), and falls under the jurisdiction of the panchayat. As such, it cannot be sold. The municipal corporation of Gurugram (MCG) staked a claim on the land in 2015 and asked its occupant to vacate it.

According to experts, the land is valued around ₹100 crore, at the present market price, since it is located on the main road along the metro rail route. The occupant of the land has denied the charges.

The matter came to light when Harinder Dhingra, a resident of DLF Phase 1 and an RTI activist, raised the matter at the Haryana chief minister’s office (CMO) on June 7. He wrote a letter to the CMO, citing the Supreme Court’s order of 2011 that ordered all state governments to evict illegal occupants of panchayat lands.

On June 15, the CMO directed the deputy commissioner of police (DCP) to inquire into the matter.Vinay Pratap Singh, DCP, marked the inquiry on June 17 to Rishi Dangi, deputy CEO, zila parishad.

“Some irregularities have been reported in the matter. The deputy CEO of zila parishad has been ordered to probe into the matter and submit a report at the earliest so that a response can be sent to the CMO,” said Singh.

Dangi called the complainant, the land occupant, and the then panchayat members on June 25. However, the hearing could not take place as many of the stakeholders were not present. “I am supposed to inquire whether the sale of the land was legal and as per norms. I will also have to check the Supreme Court’s ruling in this direction,” said Dangi.

As per the complaint, the then sarpanch of Sikanderpur with the connivance of officials of the directorate of panchayat, Haryana, granted the lease of the land at ₹40,000 per acre for 20 years to an oil company in December 1999. A petrol pump was set up at the site but in June 2003, the said land was “illegally” sold by the gram panchayat to a woman at ₹90 lakh.

“Things did not end there. The same land was further sold to Sharad Goel (brother-in-law of the woman to whom the land was sold earlier) on June 1, 2005 for ₹75 lakh. It happened with the connivance of revenue officials. This is an utter contempt of the Supreme Court ruling. I will approach the court if the government fails to restore the land,” said Dhingra.

Goel, who operates the petrol pump on the said land, however, denied all the charges, claiming that all norms were followed. “The sale deed was drawn as per the existing norms and there was no violation. Even in 2003 , a similar inquiry took place. We will present our case before the inquiry official,” said Goel.