Manesar land scam: Fresh bailable warrants issued against builder

Tribune News Service

Panchkula, December 16

The Special CBI Court here on Saturday issued fresh bailable warrants against builder Atul Bansal in connection with the alleged Manesar land scam case. Special prosecutor HPS Verma said that the fresh bailable warrants had been issued against Bansal after the bailable warrants issued against him were returned unexecuted.

As per the ED, a notification to acquire 912 acres and 7 marlas in Manesar, Lakhnaula and Naurangpur villages of Gurugram district was issued under Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, on August 27, 2004.

Fearing acquisition by the government at meager rates, landowners, in haste, sold the land at “throwaway” prices of between Rs 20 lakh and Rs 25 lakh per acre to builders.

In spite of knowing that the state government had expressed its willingness to acquire the land, Bansal, MD, ABWIL, had purchased 239 acres. He started purchasing land on December 16, 2005. On December 28, 2006, he applied for a licence for 190 acres by mentioning ABWIL and its 15 group companies as applicants.

The Director, Town and Country Planning, did not examine the fact that he did not have authorisation to apply on behalf of the companies. He, however, got six licences.

The ED said the ABWIL and its associate companies got three licences for Rs 7.02 crore and spent Rs 11.82 crore on the acquisition. They sold the licences to other firms for Rs 188.91 crore.

The profit was Rs 169.25 crore, which later turned out to be “proceeds of crime” as these had been earned after acquiring the notified land and getting licences in connivance with public servants, the ED said.