CBI grills UPSC member, Hooda in land deal case

The CBI on Monday questioned former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and UPSC member Chattar Singh for reported irregularities in the allotment of 14 industrial plots in Panchkula area.

Hooda and Singh were grilled at the CBI headquarters in the CGO complex area. The agency had earlier registered an FIR to probe tweaking of allotment rules to hand out 14 industrial plots during Hooda’s tenure. Singh was Hooda’s principal secretary when the allotment took place.

The FIR states that 14 people were awarded land – ranging from 496 sqm to 1,280 sqm – at prices much cheaper than the market rate, raising questions about the decision that caused huge losses to the state exchequer.

CBI sleuths also charged that applications for buying plots were accepted by the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) even after the last date of submission. Though the closing date for handing in the forms was January 6, 2012, HUDA accepted applications from 14 people on January 24, 2012.

The CBI also booked former IAS officer and HUDA chief administrator D P S Nagal, then controller of finance S C Kansal and then deputy superintendent B B Taneja.

The CBI said that all the allottees, who have also been named in the FIR, were related to politicians, including Hooda, bureaucrats and other influential people.

This is the second time Hooda was questioned in the case. The former chief minister is also facing CBI heat in the Manesar land scam case.
DH News Service