Vadra pocketed large premium on colony licence: Khemka

Robert Vadra’s land deals in a village in Haryana have returned to haunt the Congress party and its chief with whistleblower IAS officer Ashok Khemka alleging that Vadra “falsified documents” for 3.53 acres of land in Gurgaon and “pocketed” a large premium on a commercial colony licence.

In his “voluminous reply” submitted to Haryana Government’s three-member enquiry committee set up in October last to look into the Vadra-DLF deal, Khemka is understood to have alleged that Vadra, who is Congress President Sonia Gandhi’s son-in-law, executed a series of “sham transactions” for 3.53 acres of land in Shikohpur village of Gurgaon.

Vadra “pocketed” a huge premium on a commercial licence through money that he could account for, Khemka alleged.

The IAS officer alleged that the Haryana’s Department of Town and Country Planning (DTCP) “ignored rules and regulations to allow crony capitalists operating as middlemen to flourish and appropriate market premium of a licence.”

“The DTCP aided Vadra in making these sham transactions,” he alleged.

Khemka, who submitted his reply on May 21, says that both the sale deed of February 12, 2008, through which Vadra’s company ‘Skylight Hospitality’ bought land from ‘Onkareshwar Properties’ and Letter of Intent for granting a commercial licence to his company issued by DTCP in March 2008 are “sham transactions” made to enable Vadra to collect market premium.

“If there was no payment as alleged in the registered deed, can it it be said that the registered deed conferred ownership title over the said land upon Skylight Hospitality by virtue of the sham sale,” he questions.

Khemka, who had cancelled a land mutation deal between Vadra and DLF last October, claims that “there was no promise to pay in the future in the registered deed.”

No price was paid as claimed in the registered deed. The sale registered in the said deed cannot, therefore, be called a “sale” in the true sense of the term, legal or moral and it cannot be said that Skylight Hospitality became owner of the land in question by virtue of sale registered in the deed, Khemka is understood to have said in his report running into some 100 pages.

While Khemka’s reply has gone public, the officer, on being approached by PTI here said, “I will not speak to the media on this issue.”

Haryana Chief Secretary P. K. Chaudhary said, “We are examining the reply (by Khemka)”.