NDA land deals: Azad wants no construction till inquiry

Hemendra Singh Bartwal

New Delhi, September 17

A day after ordering an inquiry into allotments of subsidised land to various organisations during the NDA regime, Urban Development Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad on Thursday asked Delhi Lieutenant Governor B.L. Joshi to ensure that no construction was carried out on the plots in question till the report is submitted in two months.

Fearing that some of the allottees may try to hastily construct buildings on their plots, Azad made a written request to the L-G to direct the DDA and MCD not to sanction any building plans on these plots. He also urged Joshi to ensure that no construction was allowed on the institutional plots in Rouse Avenue and Pushp Vihar on Mehrauli-Badarpur Road without valid sanction plans. According to sources, many such plots allotted to different organisations during the previous government's tenure were located in the institutional area in these two localities.

Among the allottees are a number of bodies affiliated to the RSS and some with links to local BJP leaders. For instance, an official pointed out, former MoS in the PMO Vijay Goel was directly associated with the Vaish Aggarwal Education Society and Toy Bank while his family members were linked to the Agroha Vikas Trust