Garhi Sampla Uddar Gagan land case

Garhi Sampla Uddar Gagan land scam
CourtSupreme Court of India
Full case name Rohtak-Garhi Sampla Uddar Gagan Model Township land grab scam case
Decided13 May 2016
Case history
Subsequent actionCBI inquiry
Keywords
Political scams in India

The Rohtak-Garhi Sampla Uddar Gagan Model Township land grab case pertains to illegal acquisition and licensing of 850.88 acres land under Bhupinder Singh Hooda's rule as the Chief Minister of Haryana. Hooda acquired land from illiterate poor farmers at a throwaway prices in the name of "public interest" and later licensed this land to builders by granting them out-of-turn favors, which resulted in exponential increase in the land value, causing gains to big builders. HUDA issued notification on 11 April 2002 for acquiring 850.88 acres land for residential and commercial development in Sector 27-28 of Rohtak However, which was later reduced to acquire 441.11 acre on 8 April 2003. A private builder, Uddar Gagan Properties Limited, was granted license by Hooda' government to develop a colony across 280 acres of the released land [excluded from government acquisition], thus accruing illegal gains to private middlemen. HUDA issued notification on 11 April 2002 for acquiring 850.88 acres land for residential and commercial development in Sector 27-28 of Rohtak However, which was later reduced to acquire 441.11 acre on 8 April 2003. A private builder, Uddar Gagan Properties Limited, was granted license by Hooda' government to develop a colony across 280 acres of the released land [excluded from government acquisition], thus accruing illegal gains to private middlemen. Uddar Gagan is owned by Zee.

Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry against Hooda and others is currently underway. Earlier, Punjab and Haryana High Court in March 2013 and the Supreme Court of India in May 2016 had already cancelled the government's decision to release land to the private colonizer.

There are a total of 6 CBI cases and several other vigilance department investigations against Hooda underway. Central Bureau of Investigation is investigating several scams, mostly related to illegal land grab, that took place during his rule in Haryana. These investigations include the Gurugram-Manesar IMT land scam, Robert Vadra DLF land grab scam, Gurugram Rajiv Gandhi Trust land grab scam, Sonepat-Kharkhoda IMT land scam case, Panchkula-HUDA Industrial plots allotment scam, AJL-National Herald Panchkula land grab scam, Haryana Forestry scam case and Haryana Raxil drug purchase scam. He has been already chargesheeted in the Manesar-Gurugram land scam, while other cases are still under investigation (c. March 2018). During his 10-year rule as Chief Minister, Hooda, licensed a massive 24,825 acres of land compared to mere 8,550.32 acres by other Chief Ministers in the 23 years prior to Hooda's rule.