Union minister Birender Singh today sought a through probe into all cases of land acquisition during the 10-year Congress rule in Haryana, saying these were "full of scams".
Noting that a CBI investigation has begun in some cases, Singh said almost "99 per cent" of the land acquisition for Special Economic Zones (SEZs) was done in the periphery of Delhi as the builders-politicians nexus had planed to change the land use to commercial and residential purposes.
This is what has happened in Haryana that is why not more than six of the 37 SEZs were functional, the Union Rural Development Minister told reporters, adding that a thorough probe into all acquisitions should be carried out.
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He said builders in conspiracy with government officials "scared" farmers into selling their lands, claiming these were to be acquired, and then made a killing by getting their land use changed.
"There can't be a bigger scandal than this in Haryana. CBI has registered a case in which lands worth Rs 1,600 crore were acquired (at much cheaper rate). When the probe progresses, you will get to know the people at high places who were behind it," the minister said.
