HIMUDA land deal under scanner

The agency is accused of striking a deal with a local land owner,Vipul Sood,at an exorbitant price of Rs 11.48 lakh per bigha. But before the deal was formalised,Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal ordered it to be put on hold following a complaint.

However,HIMUDA vice-chairman Ganesh Dutt insists “our deal is transparent as the price was determined and finalised by a committee,headed by Solan Deputy Commissioner C Paulrasu”. “The offer price of Rs 16 lakh was brought down to Rs 11 lakh after negotiations. It’s also approved by HIMUDA board of directors,” he said. \”The price determined by the negotiation committee is very reasonable. The site also meets other parameters fixed by the government for land acquisition. Everything is clean and fair.”

Dutt,who is also a BJP spokesman,smells a Congress conspiracy “to dent the image of HIMUDA,an agency working to meet housing demands of citizens”. “If such attempts are made to defame it or stall a due process of land acquisition,HIMUDA will not be able to function and the livelihood of its 950 employees will be at stake,” he said.

However,he added that if the agency was unable to meet the deadline of one year,Rs 5,000 submitted by people along with application forms would be returned with interest. Applicants would also be given an option to apply for alternative sites if the scheme of their choice did not materialise on time.

Following the CM’s orders,HIMUDA and the Solan DC have submitted him the details of the case and the process adopted in selection of the land.

The land in question at Padiya village,3 km from the National Highway,is part of 80 bighas of the site chosen by HIMUDA to develop a residential colony for which 3,380 applicants have already been registered. While 35 bighas were registered on December 16 last year,the remaining 45 bighas were to be registered on January 12 this year. HIMUDA had already bought revenue papers and paid stamp duty to the tune of Rs 36 lakh. But a day before this,the Chief Minister’s Office wrote to the Deputy Commissioner to put the land registration on hold.

Another site being developed by HIMUDA is near Solan for which 1,373 applications have been received. Earlier,HIMUDA had signed land deals for its new projects in Sirmaur district and Solan.