The Calcutta High Court today directed Sourav Ganguly,the West Bengal government and others to file an affidavit regarding a piece of land leased to former India cricket captain in Salt Lake here. A division bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Bhaskar Bhattacharya and Justice Prasenjit Mondal directed all parties to file affidavits within three weeks explaining their position on the allegation that Ganguly was unduely favoured in allotment of a plot at Salt Lake. Ganguly,the State and Salt Lake municipality would have to file their affidavits within two weeks while the petitioner will have a time of seven days. The CA Block Citizens Association had on October 21 filed the PIL seeking cancellation of the allotment to Ganguly on the grounds that norms and rules were violated in leasing out the 62-cottah plot to the former captain. A school,Wissen International School,is being set up by a group of which Sourav is a promoter and the land has been allotted in his name. HC-GANGULY TWO LAST The petitioner claimed there were several cases in the Calcutta High Court on allotment of land at Salt Lake following which a policy decision was taken by the West Bengal government. According to the decision,(memo no: 5607-UD/Y/-7/99) an advertisement must be published for allotment of any land,the petitioner claimed. The government had on November 5,2006,published an advertisement inviting applications for a 50 cottah plot in BF-158. Among others,Ganguly was one of the applicants and was subsequently allotted the plot on lease in October 2007,the petitioners counsel Arunabha Ghosh said,adding the land was handed over on February 14,2008. It was alleged in the petition that after the allotment,Ganguly had made a request to the Urban Development Department for allotment of a 62-cottah plot in CA block (number: 222) in place of the BF block plot. The petitioner claimed that no advertisement had been published by the authority for leasing out the CA block land which was necessary as per norms. Earlier,there had been protests by residents of CA block against construction of the school,alleging it would lead to traffic snarls and pollution. The petitioners also pointed out that there was no need for a new school as two others existed in the block.
