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UP govt orders inquiry into allotment of 150 farmhouses

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Press Trust of India Lucknow

Noida Development Authority Chairman Rakesh Bahadur has been asked to submit his report in this regard in a week's time, an official said today.

The state government ordered the inquiry yesterday after receiving a note from Noida Chief Development Officer Sanjiv Saran, a senior officer in the Industrial Development Commissioner's office said.

Some 150 farmhouses of 10,000 sq m each were allotted to 120 influential companies and 29 individuals at throwaway prices, sources said, adding the alleged irregularities could have caused a loss of Rs 145 crores to the exchequer.

According to the officer, agricultural land of a dozen villages was acquired and allotted for building farmhouses against the established policy which mandates such an acquisition only for industrial use.

 

Last year also the local audit cell had reported alleged irregularities in the allotments but the then government had turned a blind eye to it, he said.

Bahadur has also been asked to probe two more cases in Noida, including unauthorised construction and subsequent demolition on the orders of the apex court at the Dalit Prerna Sthal built on the green belt worth around Rs 59.77 crores and excess payments of Rs 391 crores on sub-standard material in the scheme meant for supplying Ganga water to Noida, the officer said.

Some payments on this work were carried out in the back date after the announcement of the Assembly elections, he added.

  

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First Published: May 16 2012 | 6:15 PM IST

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