Panel finds fault with NDA allotments

A one-member committee set up by UPA government at the Centre to probe allotment of government land here to various religious, socio-cultural and educational institutes during the NDA rule has found irregularities in 32 cases of which 22 were done either for rss or at their behest.

Union Urban Development Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad told reporters that according to the findings of the committee headed by retired senior bureaucrat Yogesh Chandra allotments were made in the 32 cases without due regard to procedures or merits of the case.

In majority of them, the land was allotted at the "minister's level rather than at the ministry's level", he said.

Ministry sources said out of the 32 cases where irregularities were found by the Chandra committee, at least 18 were related to RSS. Another four cases relate to land allotment at the instance of RSS, they added.

They said irregularities have been found by the probe panel in land allotment to Vaish Aggarwal Educational Society and Vaish Aggarwal Educational Society (Toy Bank),which is headed by senior BJP leader and former union minister Vijay Goel.

The committee found that of the 19 allotments made on the basis of recommendation of ministers and not the ministry and of these 12 belong to RSS including Samarth Shiksha Samiti which was given five plots within a short time, they said. Azad said findings included references to cases where more than one allotment was made to one organisation.