'Millennium city' is a big mess -- Devasahayam. SoniaG UPA, disown Vadra.

In recent days this agglomeration has been in the news for all kinds of reasons. It hovers around the DLF-Vadra-Haryana Government nexus in land grab and falsification of records for that purpose. According to Mr Ashok Khemka, former Director-General, Land Holdings and Land Records, and Inspector-General of Registration, Haryana, Mr Vadra falsified documents and executed a series of sham transactions for 3.53 acres land in Shikohpur village of Gurgaon, thereby, pocketing a hefty premium on a commercial colony licence. This has created a ruckus in Parliament.

Mr Khemka alleges that Haryana’s Department of Town & Country Planning issued various types of colony licences for a total of 21,366 acres during Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s tenure from 2005 to 2012. He points out that if the market premium for a colony licence is assumed to be as low as one crore rupee/acre, the land-licensing scam in the past eight years is worth roughly `20,000 crore. At the premium of `15.78 crore/acre that Mr Vadra earned, this figure would jump to a staggering `3.5 lakh crore.

It has been separately reported that in a span of six years the Chief Minister had made a staggering 54,000 acres of land available for residential, commercial and industrial use through the notification of three successive master plans for Gurgaon. Evidence suggests that customisation of land development and crucial changes in land use may have played an important role in the remarkable land-to-gold story of many real estate companies. This would be a loot of humongous proportion, dwarfing all other scams and scandals making the round in Delhi.

Gurgaon is not a mere six-eight year story, but far older. The genesis of the Gandhi-DLF partnership commenced from the early 80s and Rajiv Gandhi, to whom KP Singh of DLF gives all credit for his success. The real force behind the entire venture was the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. The nexus started in 1980 when KP Singh was going around with 3,000 acres of agricultural land at Gurgaon, bought cheap to build a high-rise-high-intensity ‘world-class’ city, whereas Gurgaon hardly had the carrying capacity to withstand low-density-low-rise development.

I was then Haryana’s Director, DTCP-cum-Chief Administrator, Haryana Urban Development Authority. At that time we had no intention whatsoever of allowing private players since HUDA was capable of managing the low-intensity-low-rise development of Gurgaon. Things took a dramatic turn after the then Haryana Chief Minister Bhajan Lal defected en masse to Indira Gandhi on her returning to power in early 1980. One of Indira Gandhi’s conditions was to put the State Government machinery at the disposal of DLF to make Gurgaon into a ‘world-class city’.

To facilitate this, sometime in mid-1980, I was eased out of the job with the kind of sophistication only Bhajan Lal was capable of. When I was moved out as Managing Director, Haryana State Industrial Development Corporation earlier, I was only about a year old in the department. One fine morning, Bhajan Lal politely told me that he is transferring me to the ‘bigger’ Transport Department which is a three-in-one job as Commissioner, State Transport Authority and Chief of Haryana Roadways. My protests did not work and I was eased out.

Soon thereafter in 1981, the first licence was given to DLF and the ‘DLF City’ came up. In 1985, DLF started plotted development in the 3,000 acres. Other realtors joined in and there was no stopping Gurgaon from morphing into a ‘monster city’, in the process destroying every vestige of town planning, urbanism, environment and sustainability. This is what PK Jain, the founder-president of the Gurgaon Chamber of Commerce and Industry has to say: “Gurgaon is just a symbol of big buildings. Otherwise it’s rubbish…Ultimately, the town is going to collapse.”

In its mad pursuit to become a ‘global city’, Gurgaon never thought of its water resources and drainage. Buildings look like monsters. The city ‘steals’ national grid’s massive electricity to maintain its glitter and air conditioning, yet most of them run on highly polluting diesel energy. It is an island of concrete and glass everywhere adding to heat-island effect leading to climate change. Every green space is being preyed upon. Expressway, exclusively for car-owners serves as the worst example of infrastructure/road development. Posh markets/malls cater only to high-end consumers. Informal labour lives a despicable life. No decent schools/colleges or formal housing exist for the poor. Small-time entertainment, eating or outing avenues for poor or lower-middle class citizens have not been thought of. Government hospital or dispensary is a rarity. Not one prudent town planning norm has been adhered to. 

Gurgaon is a true urban cauldron developed for the elite, by the elite and of the elite. The elite has devastated the national capital and its environs. Gurgaon is a living example of how not to urbanise in India. The sole consideration was vulgar real estate/property ‘development’ with the purpose of raking in billions.

The modus operandi has been simple. Under the Land Acquisition Act, HUDA and HSIDC have powers to acquire land under Sections 4 and 6 through the issuance of notifications, while the award of a licence is under the Haryana Development and Regulation of Urban Areas Act, amended several times. Builders who are unable to coerce farmers to sell their land turn to the Government for official assistance. Section 4 is invoked with the notification that the Government requires those specific parcels of land for ‘public purpose’. At this stage, builders enter into agreements to sell/collaborate with landowners/farmers, offering them a modest premium over the Government’s prevailing compensation rate. If landowners/farmers offer resistance, Section 6 is imposed, declaring the State’s intention to acquire the land. This forces even resistant landowners to enter into agreements. Between the imposition of Sections 4 and 6, builders apply for licences in collaboration with farmers/landowners to the DTCP, Haryana. Once the land is released from acquisition, its value to the lucky new owners skyrocket.

Such coup d'état by property sharks has been made possible because of the concentration of the portfolios of DTCP — the licensing arm — HUDA, the Government’s real estate developer, and HSIDC, the industrial promotion wing under the Chief Minister. This gives him complete control over all land deals in the State. Now, the chickens have come home to roost. But pray, who is to pay for the colossal sins?