Dera Sacha Sauda at Salabatpura in Bathinda. (Source: Gurmeet Singh)
DERA SACHA Sauda was operating most of its deras in Punjab without any bank account. District authorities in Punjab’s Malwa region, the dera’s main area of influence in the state, confirmed that all dealings at these deras were done in cash and the money sent to the Sirsa headquarters. Salabatpura in Bathinda, Punjab’s largest dera spread over 125 acre, has no bank account. Punjab government had recently asked all districts to identify moveable and immovable dera properties in their respective areas. The worth of dera assets in Malwa is being roughly pegged at Rs 50 crore.
In Bathinda, the worth of dera properties is believed to be over Rs 20 crore, out of which Rs 10.5 crore is the cost of the Salabatpura dera. Sources revealed that Salabatpura dera’s worth had been calculated as per collector rate, while market rate was much higher. Bathinda alone has 112 properties in name of dera, out of which 11 are Nam Charcha Ghars.
In Muktsar, DC Sumit Jarangal confirmed that all dera properties were worth around Rs 4.5 crore and that the dera did not have a single bank account in the district. In the recent past, a number of followers had donated their lands in name of dera. In Bathinda alone, over a dozen persons had done the same, but sources revealed that these properties were in the name of dera’s Green Welfare Force, and not in the name of Dera Sacha Sauda.
In Fazilka, DC Isha Kalia said: “Worth of properties in our district amounts to nearly 4.25 crore and there are seven Nam Charcha Ghars in our district. We have sent the details saying that the dera does not operate through any bank account in our district.”
Meanwhile in Ludhiana, six properties have been pegged at Rs 4 crore, while in Ferozepur, the worth of properties is Rs 1.04 crore. There are four Nam Charcha Ghars in Ferozepur, said DC Ramvir Singh.
Dera assets in Mansa have been pegged at more than Rs 4 crore. Barnala has three dera properties worth Rs 1.1 crore, but no bank account, confirmed DC Ghanshyam Thori.
In Sangrur, district authorities have identified total 23 dera properties. According to Faridkot DC Rajiv Prashar, “Worth of properties in Faridkot amounts to Rs 5 crore. This is the land cost of five Nam Charcha Ghars. We have not added any other cost to it. In addition to this, we are yet to get detail from any lead bank as to whether they have any bank account for operating day to day affairs or not.”
Meanwhile, the deras don’t get direct voluntary donations from followers, but accept them in return of sale of products. Many followers have canteens inside the dera, and products under the brand name ‘MSG’ are also sold. There are charitable dispensaries as well in many deras. The deras also sell their agriculture produce and even have dairy farms. However, the absence of bank accounts indicates that everything was being done in cash. Punjab has 98 deras run by Dera Sacha Sauda.
