NEW DELHI: The Delhi Government on Thursday assured agitated members in the Delhi Assembly that it would order a high level inquiry into an alleged Rs.2,500-crore land scam involving high profile people who had illegally grabbed land allotted to landless individuals under the 20-Point Programme launched by former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

Nationalist Congress Party MLA Ramvir Singh Bidhuri raised the matter while speaking on his calling attention motion under Rule 107.

Replying to the motion, Development Minister Raj Kumar Chauhan said he had taken note of the matter raised by Mr. Bidhuri and other members and said a committee would be constituted to look into the land scam.

He said if possible an MLA would also be nominated to be part of the committee. Asserting that the Congress Government would fulfil the promises made to the people of Delhi, Mr. Chauhan assured the House that issues relating to extension of "Lal Dora" and waiver of house tax in the Capital's rural villages would be addressed shortly.

Raising the matter, Mr. Bidhuri said under the law and the information given to him by the Delhi Government in reply to his question in the Vidhan Sabha last year, any person who was allotted land under the 20-Point Programme "land for landless'' scheme could not sell the land to any other individual or organisation. No mutation of this land is permissible under the law and the nod of the Lieutenant-Governor has to be taken for this. However, in this case pertaining to Jonapur and Mandi Fatehpur in Mehrauli tehsil, one individual had not only illegally purchased such land from landless people but also got mutation done without even getting a nod from the Divisional Commissioner or the Lieutenant-Governor which was illegal and smelt of a huge scam. He said this individual was closely related to influential people in the Delhi Government and had their patronage.

Demanding that all those people whose land had been bought under this scam should get back their original land holding, Mr. Bidhuri said action should be taken against officials who had gone ahead and done the mutation.

Similarly, Mr. Bidhuri said the Government had promised to extend the Lal Dora of villages and also waive house tax for rural villages but no action had been taken to fulfil these promises.

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