VVIPs bent rules to give prime plots to chosen ones: Maya govt report

As early as September 12, 2005, the SC had restrained the LDA from transferring the plots to these 28 allottees on a PIL filed by Allahabad advocate Vishwanath Chaturvedi and asked the state government to conduct an inquiry. The Mulayam Singh government constituted a one-man commission headed by R H Zaidi, retired High Court judge.

In June this year, after she came to power, Mayawati dissolved the commission saying it had not completed the inquiry despite the time given and asked Pandey to probe.

According to the report, in 2005, 10000 sq metres earmarked by the Lucknow Development Authority (LDA) as part of its high-end Vipul Khand Scheme launched in 1993-1994, were not even opened to the public. An allegedly “fraudulent lottery” was conducted which resulted in the allotment to 28 VVIPs.

Official records show that in 2004, while the rate for the area was fixed by the District Magistrate at Rs 5500 per square metre, the allottees got their plots for just Rs 3000 per square metre. The plots varied in size — from a maximum of 545 sq m to 244 sq m.

The report has recommended cancellation of the allotments, departmental action and criminal prosecution of former LDA vice-chairman B B Singh, LDA Secretaries Rekha Gupta and Vijay Kumar Yadav; then Chief Town Planner C P Sharma and all other officials involved in the process.

It has also recommended registration of criminal cases and prosecution of all 28 allottees (see box) and all the referees which include Samajwadi Party MP Amar Singh; Anil Kumar, the then Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister and the then Housing Secretary J S Mishra.

In fact, K K Singh, current Estate Officer of the LDA, has submitted an affidavit to the inquiry committee claiming that he signed the papers related to allotments “on the instruction of the then vice-chairman, although he had reservations.”

When contacted by The Sunday Express, Mulayam Singh Yadav said: “I will not comment on the matter as it is pending in the court.” Said LDA’s B B Singh: “I have not recommended anyone. Besides, the matter is pending before the Supreme Court and High Court so I would not like to comment.”

Some key highlights from the report:

• Applications were made not in the prescribed form but on plain paper in violation of rules. No affidavits were taken from the allottees. In this manner, the LDA officials, who were in league with the applicants, ignored the rules and made irregular allotments, which shows “deliberate mischief, conspiracy and cheating”

• The plots were on institutional land which was converted to residential without following the prescribed procedure and no conversion charges were taken from the applicants.

• The Mulayam Singh government issued an order on October 18, 2006 and mentioned that there was no need to follow Section 13 of UP Urban Scheme Development Act, 1973 which makes it mandatory to charge the land conversion fee.

• Allottees Manisha Chandra and S Rastogi’s bank drafts were deposited in UCO Bank LDA branch on May 6, 2005 whereas both were shown to have been allotted plots on May 5. This shows that the registration fee for allotment/registration was deposited after the “so-called lottery.”

Meanwhile, one of the allottees, Shiv Singh — who as per the report got his plot on the recommendation of the CM Secretariat — moved the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court, challenging the dissolution of the Zaidi Commission and the Pandey inquiry. The High Court asked for all documents and has fixed October 23 the date of hearing a day after the SC hearing.

What they said

The Sunday Express contacted Mulayam Singh Yadav and some of those named in the report:

• w Mulayam Singh Yadav: I will not comment on the matter as it is pending in the court.

• w R K Mittal, then Lucknow Divisional Commissioner: I have not recommended anyone. But I got one plot for my son who is handicapped as the LDA told me that there were some plots for handicapped and I wanted to build a special home for him. If I had known this would be done in this way, I would have refused

• w J S Mishra, then Housing Secretary: I do not remember if I recommended anyone

• w B B Singh, then LDA vice-chairman: I have not recommended anyone. Besides, the matter is pending before the Supreme Court and High Court so I would not like to comment on it.

• w C P Sharma, then Chief Town Planner LDA: My job was related to layout of plans and I have no role in allotment and no file came to me.

• Raghvendra Mishra, LDA Programme Analyst: My name has appeared because I feed the applications in the computer whenever the lottery takes place.