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Bureaucrats Disputed Bjp Government Ratification of Andrews Ganj Land Scam
Bureaucrats Disputed Bjp Government Ratification of Andrews Ganj Land Scam
Bureaucrats Disputed Bjp Government Ratification of Andrews Ganj Land Scam
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Bureaucrats Disputed Bjp Government Ratification of Andrews Ganj Land Scam

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The next phase of the Land Scam series discusses HUDCO and the Government's discriminatory treatment of Ansals vis-à-vis MS Shoes. However, the scene, did not change until 2010 when the courts acknowledged cognizant acknowledgment of the discriminatory treatment of the situation.

LanguageEnglish
Release dateJun 28, 2021
ISBN9781648733086
Bureaucrats Disputed Bjp Government Ratification of Andrews Ganj Land Scam
Author

Alborz Azar

Alborz Azar has been dubbed a hero by Pantea (Lana). The story is narrated by Alborz who was once called a great hero by the woman he loves. However, she declined to be titled as the author. Considering the situation, she avoided involvement because of his family. Pantea would call Alborz Azar Casanova, Marco Polo, her hero, Gulle Chirage Jadu, etc.Azar faced all the situations in his life with confidence and believed in the truth. The luxuries in life that he procured were because of his dedication to succeeding in business. They were not inherited from any family legacy.The struggle to overcome all his difficulties with persistence started at the age of fourteen, but he found his passion for work and dedication drove him to succeed. As time passed, his first love was his wife Rozhan continued to stay at his side. Thereafter, some lovely girls crossed his path; the most important was Pantea being second love.Azar's dream to become a successful entrepreneur started at a young age. His drive to achieve a name in the corporate world was achieved in the U.K., where he also succeeded as an attorney at law and became a great writer writing fiction books, scams, laws in different countries and writing biography of popular business people struggling for justice as well as sex series. In the foreseeable future, complete life stories of different people will be written in hopes they will touch the hearts of his readers. alborzazar.net

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    Bureaucrats Disputed Bjp Government Ratification of Andrews Ganj Land Scam - Alborz Azar

    Copyright © 2021 Alborz Azar All Rights Reserved

    All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, mechanical or electronic, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the author or publisher (except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages and/or show brief video clips in a review).

    Disclaimer: The Publisher and the Author make no representation or warranties concerning the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this work and specifically disclaim all warranties for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended through sales or promotional materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for every situation. This work is sold with the understanding that the Author and Publisher are not engaged in rendering legal, technological, or other professional services. If professional assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought. Neither the Publisher nor the Author shall be liable for damages arising therefrom.

    The fact that an organization or website is referred to in this work as a citation and/or potential source of further information does not mean that the Author or the Publisher endorses the information, the organization, or website it may provide or recommendations it may make. Further, readers should be aware that websites listed in this work may have changed or disappeared between when this work was written and when it is read. Disclaimer: The cases and stories in this book have had details changed to preserve privacy.

    The following pages provide consumers a simulation of actual documents on record or public court cases gathered from internet research. Readers must be allowed to construct their own opinion based on the information provided. The motive is to also introduce pertinent information that escapes the general public at large.

    ISBN: Paperback 978-1-64873-309-3

    Ebook: 978-1-64873-308-6

    Printed in the United States of America

    Published by: Writer’s Publishing House

    Prescott, Az 86301

    Cover and Interior Design by Creative Artistic Excellence Marketing

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    HUDCO Scam Series

    Book Five

    Bureaucrats Disputed Bjp Government Ratification of Andrews Ganj Land Scam

    By Alborz Azar

    Acknowledgment

    To continue to write the further consequences of the Scam by HUDCO and the Congress Government in respect of Andrews Ganj land, I approached various authorities by finding the personal phone numbers of some of the Officers during the relevant period of the year 1997-1999 who had even retired and had made notings in the Government files. It revealed the entire game of the Andrews Ganj land scam. I must acknowledge the software used by me to go through certain decisions of the Court of India. It also revealed that Mr. Ram Jethmalani was not alive anymore, but his officers at the relevant time who were on special duty and the private secretary admitted the wrong done to MS Shoes. Mr. V. Suresh was also contacted by me, but there was no response from him, who had remained in charge of the Andrews Ganj land since the beginning. I also contacted one of the Officers of Leela Hotels Limited, who admitted that they were scammed by HUDCO. The research was also done by me on Dr. Subramanian Swamy, the then Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament who is still the member of Rajya Sabha (Upper House of the Parliament of India) who gives as good as he gets.

    Table of Contents

    Acknowledgment

    Chapter One: What about Andrews Ganj Land Scam?

    Chapter Two: Constitutional Law of India - Article 14 - Equality Before Law - Discriminatory Treatment MS Shoes vis-a-vis Ansals

    Chapter Three: Premiership of Mr. Atal Bihari Vajpayee

    Chapter Four: Mr. R M S Liberhan (Executive Director, Vigilance) to Fix Responsibilities for Illegal Construction of Car Park by HUDCO

    Chapter Five: Secretary Directed to Fix Responsibilities for Non-Disclosure of Unauthorized Car Park Basement

    Chapter Six: Prime Minister Office Petitioned on Favored Treatment to Ansals by HUDCO

    Chapter Seven: The controversy of Land Use for Five Star Hotel at Andrews Ganj

    Chapter Eight: Corruption Charges Against Union Minister of United Front Government

    Chapter Nine: HUDCO’s Chairman Pursued Personally Extensions of Instalments to Ansals and Mortgage Permission of The Land to Leela Hotels

    Chapter Ten: Government in the Realm of Conjecture for HUDCO Concealing Material Facts

    Chapter Eleven: HUDCO’s Scam Denying to Produce Documents Before Court

    Chapter Twelve: Court Specifically Recorded Documents Depositing Rs. 35 Crores (US Dollar 10.79 million) by MS Shoes in Suit Before High Court

    Chapter Thirteen: Court Held – Discrimination, Concealment, Cheating, Income Tax /Urban Land Ceiling Permissions Not Possible Without Title – Scam by HUDCO

    Chapter Fourteen: Where is the Justice in India? Who Will Probe the Scam? HUDCO’s Unjust Enrichment Defrauding MS Shoes

    Chapter Fifteen: Delhi Development Authority Conveyed that Construction of Five Star Hotel Tentamounts to Change of Land Use

    Chapter Sixteen: Pandora Box of Andrews Ganj Land Scam by HUDCO in Conspiracy with Congress Government

    Chapter Seventeen: Modification to the master plan and the Zonal Development Plan

    Chapter Eighteen: Commercial Prudence and in Public Interest Ansals Extensions of Instalments

    Chapter Nineteen: Ministry of Law & Justice Opined the Scam by Ministry of Urban Affairs, and HUDCO Saddled with Huge Liabilities of Andrews Ganj Land Scam.

    Chapter Twenty: HUDCO’s Affidavit Allotment Letter 19 March 1996 to Them Determines Status of Land

    Chapter Twenty-One: MS Shoes Sought Justice against Wrong Done by HUDCO Applying Commercial Prudence / Public Interest as in Ansals Case

    Chapter Twenty-Two: Notice of Privilege by Member of Rajya Sabha – HUDCO Misled Replying Starred Question No. 371

    Chapter Twenty-Three: Income Tax Permissions Denied Due to Lack of Ownership in Favor of HUDCO – HUDCO Bound to Refund of Rs. 68.68 Crores (US Dollar 21.89 million) with Interest Earned

    Chapter Twenty-Four: Andrews Ganj Layout Plans Approved on 4 June 1998 as per the Norms of Master Plan-2001 illegally Bi Passing Delhi Urban Art Commission.

    Chapter Twenty-Five: Cabinet Minister Held Cancellation of Guest Houses Illegal Restoring Allotments Granting Interest Whatever HUDCO Earned on First Instalment

    Chapter Twenty-Six: Scam by Bureaucrats Opposing Minister’s Order Wrongfully

    Chapter Twenty-Seven: Government has No Moral Right to Cheat the Public for Whose Benefit Government is Expected to Operate.

    Chapter Twenty-Eight: Minister Reiterated to Ratify the Fraud/Cheating Committed by HUDCO Leading to Andrews Ganj Land Scam-Bureaucrats Opposed

    Chapter Twenty-Nine: Leela Hotels Behind Opposition of Order Passed by Minister Restoring Guest House Blocks

    Chapter Thirty: HUDCO, along with Congress Government, had Cheated MS Shoes

    Chapter Thirty-One: Minister Stripped the Secretaries Authority, who Complaint to Prime Minister against Minister

    Chapter Thirty-Two: Scam by HUDCO – Not Admitting to Government the Deposit of Rs. 35 Crores (US Dollar 10.79 million) by MS Shoes in High Court Suit

    Chapter Thirty-Three: HUDCO Scam – Andrews Ganj Land Scam – MS Shoes Scammed

    References

    Chapter: One

    What about Andrews Ganj Land Scam?

    Andrews Ganj Land Scam Participant Ministry of Urban Development in 1994-1995 along with HUDCO - The worst thing is the present Andrews Ganj land scam whose participants had been the Ministry of Urban Development along with HUDCO being the Government and Government-owned company. If it was not for the Government and HUDCO, the concerned persons might have been convicted of fraud to serve several years in prison. The Government could have prevented the Scam, but they were keen to collect money from the illegal properties constructed by HUDCO, as HUDCO was charging 17% p.a. interest to the Government on the investment made in the Andrews Ganj land constructions.

    There are examples wherein Courts have sternly taken action. One of the examples is 986 residents of 7 high-rise buildings in Mumbai are staring at a bleak future. For the last 25 years, they have been staying in 140 flats that are being demolished now for being illegal. The middle-class residents have invested all their life savings in their houses and have nowhere to go, as reported in NewsX

    But courts have let go of the concerned officers in the HUDCO Scam of Andrews Ganj land, along with the Government at the relevant time.

    No Delivery at all - There are many cases wherein the builder took the booking amount and other installments and did not deliver the possession at all. There are also several litigations going on against builders, where the builders have lured the buyers with fancy promises and fraudulently took the money, but did not even start the construction at all. - https://taxguru.in/corporate-law/causes-litigation-rera.html.

    Similarly, HUDCO was to deliver the possession of the land after receiving 40% of the consideration for constructing the Five-Star Hotel, which was not delivered since HUDCO did not have a title in their favor, due to which the permission under Income Tax Authorities could not be granted and was refused.

    Fraud Builders need to be punished immediately - More than 500 people had invested their hard-earned money with Arun Dev Builders limited project in Bhiwandi Rajasthan in the year 2008, recognizing their Advertisements in Newspaper, T.V. & Hoardings with attractive installment schemes. Even today, most people don't even have the proper idea of how & where to verify the necessary documents of the property. Most of the Black Money is stored with these Fraud Builders only. The BJP government should clean the system, as reported.

    Similarly, HUDCO advertised in Newspaper alluring the bidders, and the scapegoat was MS Shoes and later Leela Hotels, who were refunded all the money with compounded interest, and Ansals extensions were granted of all the installments without interest considering the project to be in the public interest. Further, Ansals also were given interest on the amounts paid as the first installment with compounded interest.

    Trial Courts Can Now Give Consecutive Prison Terms - Spelling out the law, the High Court of Delhi categorical that in a case of inducement, allurement & cheating of many investors/depositors to buy the property, each deposit by an investor constitutes a separate & individual transaction & noted, all such transactions cannot be amalgamated & clubbed into a single FIR by showing one investor as the complainant, & others as witnesses.

    The High Court’s answer came on a reference sent to it by additional district & sessions judge Kamini Lau while dealing with a case involving 1,852 different victims cheated in a Ponzi scheme.

    The High Court also held a limit on the quantum of a sentence imposed by the Cr PC (where courts award concurrent jail terms in a single trial for more than one IPC section) wouldn’t apply in these cases, where an economic offender faces multiple trials that result in more than one conviction. This means trial courts can now give consecutive prison terms where the second term starts only once the first sentence ends, making the punishment much more rigorous. https://www.latestlaws.com/latest-news/hc-makes-punishment-for-errant-builders-rigorous/.

    What about Andrews Ganj Land Scam?

    Aam Aadmi Party (AAP, English: Common Man's Party) is a political party in India whose central policies include free electricity, water, healthcare, and public transport. It styles itself as an alternative to the mainstream Bharatiya Janata Party and Indian National Congress. It currently runs the state government in Delhi, having held a supermajority in the Delhi Legislative Assembly since the 2015 election, limiting BJP to a few seats and pushing Congress out entirely. It retained its supermajority in the 2020 elections.

    Delhi's illegal constructions: Criminal provisions are badly needed to curb the menace; AAP's silence is surprising - Why should concerned civic authorities and owners of buildings not be punished in cases of illegal buildings? Why should concerned civic authorities and owners of buildings not be punished in the thousands of cases in which illegal premises have come up in Delhi? This is a pertinent question that political parties engaged in a slugfest over the sealing of properties should raise to ensure that the menace of illegal construction is contained. Last year, a committee formed by the Delhi High Court observed that there is a nexus between builders, officials, and owners who are behind such constructions. The Committee also advised that criminal proceedings should be launched against this nexus.

    As reported by ET realty, the committee members, former Central Bureau of Investigation director DR Karthikeyan, ex-India Habitat Centre Director RMS Liberhan, and retired district judge Ravinder Kaur, said that without enforcing any criminal liability on the builder-architect-owner-official Nexus, no lasting remedy will work.

    Illegal constructions cannot happen without consent. Builder-official Nexus... thrives in our cities by buying protection and insurance from the law enforcers. The builder, architect, and owner have a vested interest. Often, the purchaser is the most vulnerable, the Committee observed.

    Interestingly, the same Mr. R M S Liberhan was the Executive Director (Vigilance) of HUDCO, who was aware of the fact that HUDCO did not have a lease in its favor, there was no title available with HUDCO of properties allotted to MS Shoes, and that the buildings had no sanctions of any local authorities which was concealed by HUDCO in the bids invited from MS Shoes. Where was Mr. Liberhan at that time??

    Who was vulnerable in the Andrews Ganj land Scam and HUDCO Place Scam? It was MS Shoes, and illegal constructions had happened with the connivance and the officers’ nexus, HUDCO buying protection from the Law Enforcement. The builder was HUDCO, and the Architect was Jasbir Sawhney & Associates, who had a vested interest in defrauding MS Shoes by not disclosing the illegal constructions; where were these members of the Committee, and where are they now? As per my opinion as an author, Mr. R M S Liberhan is also a conspirator in cheating MS Shoes, since he was in knowledge of the concealments by HUDCO in selling the Andrews Ganj land properties.

    Vijay Goel (born January 4, 1954) is an Indian politician and former Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs, Statistic, and Implementation in the NDA government. A former Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports, Goel is affiliated with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He became president of the Delhi unit of the BJP in February 2013. He was elected to Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan in 2014.)

    Mr. Goel has been actively involved in heritage conservation. As a Lok Sabha representative from Chandni Chowk, Goel hosted a two-day cultural festival, Chaudhvin Ka Chand, in 1998 to get the soul back into the 350-year-old city of Shahjahanabad and turn Chandni Chowk into a major tourist attraction in Delhi.[21] For this, among other measures, electricity polls were rooted out, pavements were cleared of encroachments, and shop shutters were painted to spruce up the locality before the cultural festival.

    Goel also restored a 200-year-old haveli named Haveli Dharampura in Chandni Chowk with his son Siddhant Goel. [ Vijay Goel's Haveli Dharampura has recently won prestigious UNESCO Asia-Pacific 2017 Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation.

    Builders cheating homebuyers are no less than rape': BJP's Vijay Goel said lakhs of home buyers had invested their hard-earned money billing flats. But the greedy builders had cheated them. Speaking in the Rajya Sabha during Zero Hour, he also sought action against celebrities endorsing housing projects of such builders.

    The builders have cheated and defrauded these home buyers. These greedy builders should get capital punishment because the crime they have committed is no less than rape, said Goel, who formerly headed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Delhi.

    In good news for thousands of home buyers left in the lurch, with builders delaying giving them possession of their dream homes, the Supreme Court on Tuesday canceled the registration of the embattled Amrapali group under the Real Estate Regulatory Authority and the lease of its properties granted by Noida and Greater Noida authorities, as reported in India English.

    It is obvious that by cheating, MS Shoes have been not less than rape by the Government and HUDCO if the above reporting is correct.

    Can't give the death penalty for corruption, says SC on the misconduct of builders -

    The top Court said builders, in cooperation with authorities and banks, have flouted norms and constructed skyscrapers side by side across India. We cannot give capital punishment for corruption, a peeved Supreme Court said Wednesday while referring to the misconduct of realtors in cheating lakhs of people across the country.

    The top Court said builders, in cooperation with authorities and banks, have flouted norms and constructed skyscrapers side by side across India.

    It pulled up the Noida and Greater Noida authorities and banks for turning a blind eye towards irregularities committed by the builders, including Amrapali Group.

    A bench of Justices Arun Mishra and Lalit, hearing a batch of petitions filed by home buyers who are seeking possession of around 42,000 flats booked in projects of the Amrapali Group, told the authorities that their timely actions could have saved several projects.

    "We know what type of corruption is going on in the real estate sector and how officials have benefited in cooperation with the builders. There are blatant violations of norms. Public and their trust are cheated at large.

    This mass-scale cheating can only happen in India, but we can't give capital punishment for corruption, the bench said.

    The Court got irked after counsel for Noida authority told the bench that there are certain procedures through which they keep a check on irregularities committed by the builders and developers.

    When a builder who has been given land on lease by the authority commits a default, we (Noida) first issue a show-cause notice, and if the default persists, then at the end the lease can be canceled, counsel appearing for Noida told the Court.

    To this, the bench asked the counsel to state that in how many cases Noida or Greater Noida have canceled the leases of builders for default of payment or violation of norms.

    See the entire belt in Noida and Greater Noida. It is happening everywhere in Indore, Bhopal, and other cities as well. Builders in connivance with banks and authorities are constructing huge sky scrapers side by side by flouting norms. These buildings are not being sold for want of completion certificates, the Court said.

    The counsel said he must seek information in this regard from the authority, but said that such instances of lease cancellation are rare.

    "For the past ten years, you have done nothing. You simply turned a blind eye when there was a default or violation of norms. Both Noida and Greater Noida did nothing despite builders not paying you the money.

    Actually, you all are hand in glove with the builders and wanted to cheat the public at large. Your timely actions could have saved several projects," it said.

    At the outset, senior advocate Krishnan Venugopal, appearing for home buyers, said that Noida and Greater Noida give land to a builder on lease simply by paying 10 percent of the total cost, and the rest amount is paid in installments.

    No due diligence is being carried out to check the net worth of the individual, and the land is given. Many times, builders take out 10 percent of the cost after diverting funds from some other project. This land is then mortgaged to the bank, and the loan is secured. The entire chain is like a huge Ponzi scheme, he said.

    To this, the bench said there should be a substantial deposit of the total cost before the project is being started, and the authorities need to monitor the progress of each project.

    Instead, they help the builders in their misconduct, the bench said, adding that even banks should have kept a check on diversion of funds by the builders to other projects.

    On February 28, the apex court had allowed the Delhi police to arrest Amrapali group CMD Anil Sharma and two directors on a complaint that homebuyers of their various housing projects were cheated and duped of their funds.

    The top court, seized several pleas of homebuyers seeking possession of around 42,000 flats booked in projects of the Amrapali group, also ordered attachment of personal properties of the CMD and directors -- Shiv Priya and Ajay Kumar.

    The trio, under the detention of Uttar Pradesh police and kept in a hotel at Noida since October 9 last year by the apex court for not complying with its orders, was in for a shock when the Court ordered the arrest on a plea by the Economic Offence Wing (EOW) of Delhi Police saying it wanted to quiz them in a separate cheating case.

    The Court had also appointed a valuer to ascertain the exact value of 5,229 unsold flats, including those booked by Amrapali for merely Rs 1, Rs 11, and Rs 12, and asked the valuer to submit its report.

    In the case of MS Shoes, the corruption is obvious, how the extensions were granted interest-free of the due installments in the garb of public interest, how the Government benefited in connivance with the builder being its own owned company, HUDCO.

    Government-supported blatant violations of norms by constructing the properties without any sanctions of building plans, and receiving the money from MS Shoes by concealing the material facts, including the title. The trust of MS Shoes was cheated by the then Government and HUDCO.

    Now, as the Supreme Court has already held, the mass scale of cheating can only happen in India without giving capital punishment, but at least the Supreme Court can ratify the Andrews Ganj land Scam. When is a momentous question? Since the Government is involved and their own company owned by the President of India is involved, justice in India becomes difficult to get.

    For the past 25 years, nothing could be done to grant justice, since the legal system is laid in India. The courts simply turn a blind eye when the Government and a public sector company like HUDCO are at fault or there was a violation of norms.

    It is well-known in developed countries like the U.K., Europe, and the USA, as well as other countries, that permissions are mandatory before the start of construction.

    Permissions - The carrying out of construction works in the UK may require planning permission and Building Regulations approval, as well as other approvals depending on the works.

    Planning permission is the legal process of determining whether proposed developments should be permitted. Responsibility for planning lies with local planning authorities (usually the planning department of the district or borough council). The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) decides national planning policy for England, and this is set out in the National Planning Policy Framework.

    The Building Regulations set out requirements for specific aspects of building design and construction, including accessibility, energy use, drainage, and so on.

    India's Complicated and Messy Real Estate Ponzi Scheme, Just Got Messier - Over the last few years, many real estate companies across the country, particularly in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR), have taken money from home buyers and not been able to deliver promised homes on time.

    Some of these companies have also taken loans from banks and defaulted on those loans as well. Basically, these companies have taken money from home buyers, they have also taken loans from banks, and are still unable to deliver the promised homes. In some cases, real estate companies have already booked sales on homes they are yet to deliver.

    The question is, where has this money gone?

    Promoters of real estate companies have siphoned off a part of the loans they took on from banks and the money they took from buyers.

    This money has been diverted for other uses, like completing previous projects and buying more land (or, to put it in real estate parlance, for building a formidable land bank).

    Several interesting issues crop up here:

    It is now more or less clear that the real estate companies had been happily running a Ponzi scheme. A Ponzi scheme is a financial scam in which investors are promised rich returns. The money being invested by the second set of investors is used to pay off the first set. The money invested by the third set of investors is used to pay off the second set, and so on. A Ponzi scheme runs until the money being invested in the scheme is greater than the money going to redeem the investment of the early investors. The moment this reverses, the scheme collapses.

    The real estate companies essentially followed this model. They announced a new real estate project and then raised money against it. This money was then used to buy more land or simply siphoned off. Then a new project was announced. The money raised against the new project was used to complete the earlier project. Of course, I am simplifying things a bit here, but that was the basic modus operandi.

    The key to this method of selling homes was the ability to keep launching new projects. Over the years, as real estate returns fell, the ability of real estate companies to launch new projects came on drastically. Once this happened, they couldn't raise enough money to complete their existing projects. And this led to many buyers being left stranded in a rented home.

    The Saradha Group financial scandal was a major financial scam and alleged political scandal caused by the collapse of a Ponzi scheme run by Saradha Group, a consortium of over 200 private companies believed to be running collective investment schemes popularly but incorrectly referred to as chit funds in Eastern India. The scheme is alleged to have cheated over a million investors in West Bengal, Assam, Jharkhand, and Odisha. Sudipta Sen, the chairman of the company, attempted to flee but was arrested in 2013. The amount they bagged is estimated to be between Rs 1200 (US Dollar 290.83 million) - 4000 crores (US Dollar 969.46 million).

    The group collected around ₹200 to 300 billion (US$4–6 billion) from over 1.7 million depositors] before it collapsed in April 2013. In the aftermath of the scandal, the State Government of West Bengal, where the Saradha Group and most of its investors were based, instituted an inquiry commission to investigate the collapse. The State government also set up a fund of ₹5 billion (US$70 million) to ensure that low-income investors were not bankrupted.

    The central government, through the Income Tax Department and Enforcement Directorate, launched a multi-agency probe to investigate the Saradha scam and similar Ponzi schemes. In May 2014, the Supreme Court of India, inter-state ramifications, possible international money laundering, serious regulatory failures, and alleged political nexus, transferred all investigations into the Saradha scam and other Ponzi schemes to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), India's federal investigative agency. Many prominent personalities were arrested for their involvement in the Scam, including two Members of Parliament (MP) - Kunal Ghosh and Srinjoy Bose, former West Bengal Director General of Police Rajat Majumdar, a top football club official Debabrata Sarkar, Sports and Transport minister in the Trinamool Congress government Madan Mitra.

    The Scam has often been compared to the Sanchayita investment scam, a multi-crore rupees scam that occurred in West Bengal in the 1970s, complaints related to which led to the formation of the Prize Chits and Money Circulation Schemes (Banning) Act of 1978. - (Wikipedia, Saradha Group Financial, n.d.)

    In the Andrews Ganj land Scam, the amount collected from MS Shoes was diverted and utilized by lending to the borrowers at the rate of 18% p.a. compounded quarterly and/or deposited in the bank earning interest @ 13% compounded quarterly. Who was the beneficiary – HUDCO or Government?

    It is also seen from the terms of the allotment letter that HUDCO had reserved its rights to take back the land and the building constructed thereupon whatsoever if they discovered that the allotment of the hotel site had been obtained by suppression of any fact, misstatement, misrepresentation, fraud or breach of the conditions of the agreement to lease. In my opinion, such a condition applies vice versa to HUDCO as well, since it is admitted the fact that HUDCO did not have a title until July 4, 1997, although it claimed to have so. Similarly, HUDCO suppressed the material facts of unauthorized constructions carried out, and the need for the approval of revised layout plans before sanctioning building plans of the hotel. HUDCO made misstatements, misrepresented, and committed fraud by concealing material facts that even the land use for a hotel was required to be regularized.

    What was given to MS Shoes after receipt of 40% of the total consideration of Rs? 177.10 crores (US Dollars 56.42 million)? Nothing as HUDCO did not have the title to get the permissions from Income Tax Authorities, which even if applied in respect of Five-Star Hotel land was declined by the Income Tax Authorities. Resultantly, HUDCO did not give possession of the Five-Star hotel land for the construction of the hotel building. In any case, the building plans for the hotel could not have been entertained by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi until September 7, 1999.

    One of the conditions of the allotment was that the hotel building had to be constructed within three years of the allotment, dated October 31, 1994. The construction was to be completed by October 31, 1997, when the building plans for the hotel could not have been entertained until September 7, 1999. What is it? Is it not a Scam? In fact, MS Shoes legally deserve the interest on the first installment paid by them of Rs. 68.68 crores (US Dollar 21.89 million) in February 1995, and re-allotment of the properties after calculation of the interest on the amount paid for the last 25 years, adjusting the same with the balance installment of the projects, as was decided in the case of Guest House blocks by the then Minister of Urban Development, Mr. Ram Jethmalani.

    I have no authority to decide legally or otherwise, but if it was the United Kingdom or

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