The Hindu : New Delhi News : DDA allotted land to ineligible institutions: PAC Report

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Saturday, Apr 30, 2005

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New Delhi

DDA allotted land to ineligible institutions: PAC Report

Staff Reporter

Authority deprived of Rs. 38.54 crores of revenue

NEW DELHI: : The Delhi Development Authority had allotted land at concessional rates to three ineligible institutions - Arya Vaidya Sala, Kottakkal, Dharmshila Cancer Foundation and Research Centre, and Unique Hospitals and Research Institute - in contravention of Rule 20 of the Nazul Rules which deprived DDA of Rs 38.54 crores in revenue, the report of Parliament's Public Accounts Committee on "Allotment of Land to Private Hospitals and Dispensaries by DDA'' has stated.

In the report, which was presented to the Lok Sabha and laid in the Rajya Sabha earier this week, the PAC has stated that though "Rule 20 of the DDA Rules, 1981 prescribes inter alia that an institution seeking allotment of institutional land should be a society registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 or such institution should be owned and run by the government or any local authority or constituted or established under any law for the time being in force'', it found that "allotments of land were made to the following three ineligible institutions at concessional institutional rates instead of at commercial rates in contravention of the extant guidelines which deprived DDA of revenue of Rs 38.54 crores''.

The report said Arya Vaidya Sala Kottakkal, a charitable trust of public nature since 1902, was allotted a plot of land measuring 0.95 hectares in Karkardooma Complex despite a legal opinion taken by the then Vice-Chairman of DDA in Spetember 1994 wherein it was concluded that a public or private trust cannot be deemed to be a society under the Societies Registration Act nor can it be deemed to have been constituted or established under any law in terms of the meaning of Rule 20 and hence it was not entitled for allotment.

Charitable trust

As for Dharmshila Cancer Found and Research Centre, a public charitable trust, the report said it was allotted two acres of land at Rs 14.25 lakh per acre in March 1990 though it was not registered as a society. The Trust was however, subsequently registered as a society in April 1990. The Legal Advisor had observed in January 1993 that the allotment of land to the Trust was ab initio void and since the allotment was void, the Trust could not subsequently pass on the property to the society and the subsequently formed society could not also take over the assets and liabilities of the erstwhile Trust in respect of the allotted land.

The biggest loss, however, resulted on account of Unique Hospitals and Research Institute which was registered under the Companies Act in January 1996 but was still allotted 8,907 square metres of land in December 1997.

The report said "it was observed by Audit that allotment of land at concessional rates to an organisation which remained in essence and to all intents and purposes a "company'' resulted in loss of Rs 34.03 crores to DDA.

Viewing the allotments to these "ineligible institutions'' as "glaring examples of abuse of official position and machinery at the highest echelons in DDA to show favouritism to certain institutions on one or the other pretext,'' the Committee had demanded that responsibility should be fixed for these irregular allotments and appropriate punitive action be taken against the erring officials who misinterpreted the rules to enable certain institutions to have the land allotted at concessional rates.

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