In a major revelation, the Haryana government has uncovered a fresh multi-crore rupee scam involving property IDs in the Sonipat Municipal Corporation, just a day after ordering a high-level probe into a separate Rs 1,500 crore 'work slip' scandal. Urban Local Bodies Minister Vipul Goel announced the new case on Friday, leading to immediate suspensions.
Sonipat Property ID Scam: The Modus Operandi
Preliminary investigations indicate that officials and employees of the Sonipat civic body manipulated the system for generating property IDs. This manipulation allegedly benefited a private colonizer, enabling him to evade crores of rupees in government levies. The dodged payments included license fees, conversion charges, and registration fees by bypassing standard procedures.
Following two rounds of investigations supervised by senior officials at the ULB minister's office, the department identified six officers and ten employees of the Sonipat Municipal Corporation. Minister Goel ordered the immediate suspension of the officials, which includes one Zonal Taxation Officer (ZTO), one serving Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO), and one former SDO. The ten chargesheeted employees were involved in handling the property ID process and are accused of facilitating the fraud.
Minister's Stern Warning and Ongoing Probe
"We are very particular about wrongs in our department," stated Minister Vipul Goel. He emphasized that the state was cheated of several crores in levies that the developer of a housing society was legally required to pay. "This is just the beginning, and further investigation is in progress," he added, noting that an ordinance has been brought to check the illegal sale or development of unauthorized colonies.
Reports suggest the implicated society-cum-colony was developed by a group of influential individuals from Sonipat, including a former MP, through shell companies. Officials from the ULB, Town and Country Planning, and Revenue departments are now examining the case from their respective angles.
The Backdrop: The Rs 1,500 Crore Work Slip Scam
This new scandal emerges hot on the heels of another massive alleged fraud. On Thursday, Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini ordered a high-level probe into a Rs 1,500 crore 'work slip' scam within the Haryana Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board, which was exposed by Labour Minister Anil Vij on Monday.
A three-member committee, headed by Principal Secretary (Agriculture) Pankaj Aggarwal, has been formed to investigate. The team, which also includes IAS officer Rajiv Rattan and IPS officer Pankaj Nain, has been tasked with proving the allegations and irregularities. They are expected to submit their report to the government within one month.
The labour board scam came to light during an internal enquiry, which found that out of 2.21 lakh labour registrations, only around 14,000 were genuine. Nearly 1.93 lakh registrations were discovered to be fake, indicating a massive scale of fraud involving welfare funds meant for construction workers.
The consecutive uncovering of these two significant scams has put the Haryana administration's vigilance mechanisms under the scanner, prompting swift action and promises of thorough investigation from the highest levels of the state government.
