Inquiry says he encroached on government land, ex-minister Sukhbir Kataria denies

GURUGRAM: An inquiry by the district administration has concluded that former Congress minister Sukhbir Kataria and four others encroached on government land along the Old Delhi-Gurugram road and have been running commercial establishments on it for years. This includes a car dealership, an automobile repair shop, a sweet shop, a dhaba and some eateries.
Kataria, who was the sports minister in the Bhupender Singh Hooda-led government between 2009 and 2014, on Monday denied the inquiry’s finding. He said that the property has been with his family for decades, and that he has approached a local court over the matter.
The case came to light in May 2020, when a Gurugram resident and RTI activist OP Kataria filed a complaint with the state vigilance bureau, alleging that that 3.8 acres of land in Inayatpur allotted to the Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC) had not been handed over.
Deputy commissioner Nishant Yadav last month ordered the department of town and country planning (DTCP) to investigate and submit a report.
According to the investigation report, a total of 55.5 acres of land close to the Atul Kataria Chowk had been acquired by the Haryana government in 1972.
In the next two years, the land was transferred to HSIIDC, except the 3.8-acre-portion. The report said it was presumed that a parcel of land, which fell “in the 900 metres restriction zone of the ammunition depot of the air force” (the buffer zone is now 300 metres) may have been the “reason” for not handing it over to the HSIIDC in the 70s.
However, the investigation “has found encroachment on government acquired land”, said a DTCP official.
As part of the inquiry, HSIIDC also carried out a physical survey in the area, which showed the alleged encroachments by Kataria, Chetan Thakran, Roshni Dahiya, Moti Lal Kataria and Kulraj Kataria.
Based on its report, the DTCP this week wrote to the MCG to demolish the structures. “It is government acquired land and we have written to MCG for clearing the encroachments,” the DTCP official cited above said.
Kataria said it was his family’s ancestral land. “The demarcation of the land was carried out (by HSIIDC) without making us party to it. We have an objection to this demarcation and we have approached a Gurugram court,” he said.