Hidco Kolkata to Cancel Land Allotment at Rajarhat
Allegations of irregularities have poured in about the allotments done by Housing Infrastructure and Development Corporation (Hidco) three months ago. Questions were also raised about the presence of any political aim behind the allotment of so many residential and non residential plots, including those under the chairman’s quota, just a day before the election schedule was to be announced.
Hidco will now scrutinize the process through which these plots were sold or distributed to check whether there was any irregularity. “The scrutiny of the process will be legally done. If an irregularity is found in the allotment of any plot, money would be returned to the allottee,” said an official.
Three months after the change of guard, Hidco has decided to cancel and take back all plots allotted in a hurry by its former chairman and housing minister Gautam Deb on February 28 this year, a day before the Model Code of Conduct for the assembly elections came into effect. The purpose behind such a step is to conduct a probe against allotments of both residential and commercial plots and ones that were distributed under the chairman’s quota.
This particular decision to cancel all plots allotted on February 28 follows the earlier decision to withhold and scrutinize all land deals by Hidco from December last year till the elections. Just after taking over as chief minister, Mamata Banerjee had announced return of 1,587 acres of land at Rajarhat to unwilling farmers and scrapped the Hidco chairman’s quota.
The decision was taken after the first meeting of Hidco’s reconstituted board on Friday. “It has been decided that all residential and non-residential plots sold or distributed on February 28 have been cancelled and will be taken back,” said Hidco chairman and managing director Debasis Sen. Though officials remained tightlipped on the exact number of plots distributed that day and the names of recipients, sources said that the number would exceed 50 and that beneficiaries include quite a few politicians.
The government had also decided to cancel all notifications issued for acquisition of this land by the previous Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee government. Under the previous government, the Hidco chairman was empowered to distribute 5% of plots at his own discretion.
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