GURUGRAM: There is a whiff of controversy around the “sudden”
transfer of Bharat Bhushan Gogia, the
subdivisional magistrate (
SDM), Gurugram (north), on March 30.
Only a week before, on March 23, deputy commissioner (DC) Vinay Pratap Singh had issued a showcause notice to the Gurugram joint sub-registrar, regarding irregularities in a land sale that involves names of local BJP functionaries. This came after Gogia submitted a scathing report to the DC, pointing out illegal structures that are being built in the New Colony area of old Gurugram, on the land in question.
The BJP government has termed the transfer as “routine”. Jawahar Yadav, an aide of chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar, defended the move to transfer the SDM while the probe is on. “It’s the prerogative of the government and not of the media to transfer officials,” he told TOI on Friday.
In his report to the DC, the SDM had provided details of the sale deed numbers (14277, 14278 & 14279), dated February 28, 2018, of a property measuring 1.65 bigha, in khasra number 3634/1246, located in Revenue Estate under New Colony.
“While registering the three aforesaid sale deeds, the company failed to produce any licence or CLU (change of land use) from the MCG senior town planner, even though the said land is within MCG area. The company could not have distributed the land into different plots, without obtaining permission/CLU from the concerned authority, ie. MCG,” the letter states.
The letter goes on to add: “Under the title of registration of certain documents, Section 7A of the Haryana Development and Regulation of Urban Area Act, 1975 states that no registration officer appointed under the Act shall register any document unless the transferor produces before such registration officer a no objection certificate (NOC) issued by the director or an officer authorised by him in writing on his behalf. Hence, the joint sub-registrar, Gurugram has registered the sale deeds without analysing whether any NOC/CLU regarding the above sale deeds have been taken from the competent authority by the seller/transferor company. The company has illegally carved out various plots from the aforesaid land, and has sold the same to different buyers, which is totally wrong and against the law (sic).”
The company in question, which divided the land and sold it off in plots, is owned by the brother of Gurugram MLA Umesh Aggarwal. “My brother has bought the property and then sold it to someone else. There is no wrongdoing on my part,” Aggarwal told TOI on Friday.
One of the sale deeds (14278) has been executed in favour of Lalit Kumar, who is the son of another BJP functionary, Mangat Ram Bagri, whose daughter-in-law is a councillor and was one of the contenders for the post of Gurugram mayor.
Bagri acknowledged that his son had purchased a part of the land.
Gogia refused to comment on the controversy surrounding his transfer.
The Gurugram deputy commissioner and MCG commissioner could not be reached for their comments, despite repeated attempts.
The plot in New Colony that is at the centre of the controversy
