GURUGRAM: The government has received around 3,600 claims for
plots and flats that were ensnared in the
Manesar land scam, according to a reply to an RTI query.
In March this year, the
Supreme Court ordered that the ownership of 688 acres of land that the Bhupinder Singh Hooda government had issued an acquisition notification for in 2004 but withdrawn subsequently — triggering distress sales in the interim to builders who promised more than the compensation the state was offering — would pass into the hands of government agencies HSIIDC and Huda.
The scam was estimated at Rs 1,500 crore with land being bought from locals at throwaway prices.
The Supreme Court had said all homebuyers who had brought properties in projects developed on the land in question were entitled to claim their properties. The claims were supposed to be filed within a month of the judgment. But for nearly the entire period, the Haryana government had not decided if Huda or HSIIDC would accept the claims. Ultimately, in April, HSIIDC was chosen as the agency for accepting claims from homebuyers as well as landlords.
The ABW
Manesar Allottee Welfare Society has also filed a petition seeking clarification of the Supreme Court order. One of the petitioners, Naresh Jindal, said the court had directed claims for possession or refunds could be filed to Huda or HSIIDC but there was no clarity on the interest applicable or the timeline.
The RTI query was filed by Aseem Takyar.