The ED raided the residence of former Punjab minister Sunder Sham Arora in Hoshiarpur as part of an investigation into a 2023 case involving the illegal transfer of an industrial plot to a private firm, resulting in a significant state financial loss.
ED Raids Residence of Former Punjab Minister
Hoshiarpur (Punjab) [India], November 2 (ANI): The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday conducted a search operation at the residence of senior Congress leader and former Punjab Cabinet Minister Sunder Sham Arora in Hoshiarpur. The search operation, supported by personnel of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), began early on Monday morning. Advocate H S Saini said, “They are from the Enforcement Department, based in Chandigarh. I don’t have complete details about that; I only met two of the officers. They asked me to wait while their investigation is underway, and said they would grant me access once it’s complete—along with the opportunity for proper legal counsel…” Further details about the raid are awaited.
Background of the Vigilance Bureau Case
In January, 2023, the Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) registered a criminal case against former minister Sunder Sham Arora, Neelima, IAS, and 10 government officials for transferring an industrial plot to a realtor company and allowing it to establish a township by dividing plots. Three owners of a realtor firm, Gulmohar Township Private Limited, have also been booked in connection with this case. The VB has arrested seven officials of PSIDC, including Ankur Chaudhary Estate Officer, Davinderpal Singh GM Personnel, JS Bhatia chief general manager (Planning), Ashima Aggarwal ATP (Planning), Parminder Singh Executive Engineer, Rajat Kumar DA and Sandeep Singh SDE for conniving with each other to provide undue benefit to the realtor firm.
Details of the Plot Transfer
A spokesperson of the state VB said that, aiming to promote the industry, the Punjab Government had allotted 25 acres of land to Anand Lamps Limited through a sale deed in the year 1987, which was later transferred to a firm named Signify Innovations. This plot was then sold to Gulmohar Township through a sale deed by Signify Innovations after procuring a no-objection certificate from the Punjab State Industrial Development Corporation (PSIDC).
Procedural Irregularities and Financial Loss
In March 2021, the then Industry and Commerce Minister Sundar Sham Arora forwarded a letter to the then MD PSIDC received from Gulmohar Township for further bifurcation of plots. He further informed that the MD PSIDC has constituted a departmental committee to examine the proposal of this realtor firm which included SP Singh Executive Director, Ankur Chaudhary Estate Officer, Bhai Sukhdeep Singh Sidhu, Davinderpal Singh GM Personnel, Tejveer Singh DTP, (deceased), JS Bhatia chief general manager (Planning), Ashima Aggarwal ATP (Planning), Parminder Singh Executive Engineer, Rajat DA, and Sandeep Singh SDE. The committee headed by SP Singh had approved the proposal of the above-said realtor firm to bifurcate plots from 12 plots to 125 plots without taking notice of the proposal report, project report, articles of association, and memorandum of association in this regard. In addition to this, the said committee had recommended the proposal of Gulmohar Township without consulting the Punjab Pollution Control Board, Municipal Corporation, Electricity Board, Forest Department, State Fire Brigade, etc. During the investigation by the Forensic Science Laboratory, it has also been found that two pages of the noting on file didn’t match with the rest of the pages attached in the file. It was found that the above-said committee members have attached fake documents and did not scrutinise the said application/proposal thoroughly.
The spokesperson further added that according to the deed of 1987, this plot was to be used for industrial purposes only and the said Gulmohar Township has no such background. He further added that according to the rules of the PSIDC, the fee for plots was to be charged at the rate of Rs. 20 per yard and Rs. 3 per year from the year 1987, which was a total fee of Rs.1,51,25,000 for a total of 1,21,000 square yards. It was astonishing that the accused firm had already attached a pay order of Rs 27,83,000 with the application while no one from the PSIDC had demanded it. Due to this, the Punjab Government has incurred a financial loss of Rs. 1,23,42,000. (ANI)
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