‘Hundreds of acres illegally occupied by bigwigs’

The list of prosecution shows 114 cases were filed in the Court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM),Mohali,but nothing was done about the 2,455 violators reported by various authorities of Punjab,the report read.

As per the amendment of the East Punjab Holdings Village,common land can neither be partitioned between proprietors,nor can it be transferred in the name of any individual jointly or separately,even if there are court orders. Land will be controlled and administered by the gram panchayat or the state government and continue to be used for common purposes. 

On January 29,the High Court issued contempt notices to the Deputy Commissioner of Mohali and expressed disapproval over other departments for not cooperating with Shekhar.

“It is remarkable that after issuance of contempt of court on January 29,fresh information from the department concerned is coming in,but it is still inadequate,” Shekhar submitted. In compliance with the High Court directions,a meeting was held by the Chief Secretary (CS),Punjab,in which the ADGP appealed for action against officials responsible for supplying wrong information,which was treated as genuine by the department and submitted to the High Court on earlier dates of hearing.

“Information shall be supplied regarding disciplinary action being taken by the Forest department against IFS officers A S Dogra,H S Grewal,Swaran Singh,B C Bala,J S Samundari and Naresh Mahajan,” the report read.

Shekhar also asked,“Why has action not been taken for removal of the oldest violations in the villages so far. Who is responsible for not taking any action in this regard?”

After the issuance of contempt notices by the High Court on January 29,a total of 619 acres,7 kanals and 8 marlas of land were retrieved from illegal possession from Mohali. In a significant statement,the ADGP told the High Court that “despite several reminders,complete information was not provided by members regarding other assets/properties owned by them”.

These are members of the Punjabi Cooperative House Building Society,which was constructed by representatives of people for Rs 8 crore but was later sold to Tata Housing Corporation for over Rs 96 crore.

The ADGP demanded a three-month extension to complete the probe,which the High Court has allowed.

ADGP claims promotion withheld
The investigating officer,ADGP Chander Shekhar,has alleged his promotion has been withheld due to the report filed by him. “It is worthwhile to note the service career of the investigating officer has been adversely affected due to reports submitted during the inquiry pertaining to property owned by various high-ups. Despite a recommendation to the Departmental Promotion Committee (DPC) to promote the IO (Shekhar),his promotion has been withheld although vacancy is available on account of superannuation of DGP Rajdeep Singh Gill,” Shekhar has submitted in his report. Mohali Deputy Commissioner P S Mand,meanwhile,as directed by the court,appeared in person before Justice Rajive Bhalla and tendered an unqualified apology.