The Hindu : New Delhi News : Maken orders probe into DDA role in slum scam

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Wednesday, Aug 08, 2007
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New Delhi

Maken orders probe into DDA role in slum scam

Staff Reporter

When National Democratic Alliance was in power between 2000 and 2002

“The DDA was chaired by an L-G appointed by NDA when the scam broke out”
“It needs to be investigated how Malhotra got the canteen contract in the DDA”

NEW DELHI: The Union Urban Development Ministry on Tuesday ordered an internal enquiry in the Delhi Development Authority to probe how the multi-crore land scam involving contractor Ashok Malhotra that was unearthed by the Central Bureau of Investigation took place when the National Democratic Alliance Government was in power at the Centre between 2000 and 2002.

Seeking to put the BJP in the dock over the issue, Union Minister of State for Urban Development Ajay Maken charged the party with constantly diverting public attention from the actual issue of land scam to protect its leaders whose complicity in the scam was “more than clear”. He said the DDA had been given a month’s time to furnish its replies to the Ministry’s queries.

Mr. Maken said the FIR registered by the CBI had clearly indicated that the period of the scam was 2000-2002. As such, the internal probe would seek to establish “how the scam took place, who were the officials involved, and what kind of political patronage were they enjoying during the period of the scam”.

Mr. Maken also made it a point to mention that during the period in question the Ministry was under the NDA Government and the DDA was chaired by a Lieutenant-Governor who had been appointed by it.

“While the BJP is talking about Malhotra holding the canteen contract in the Delhi Vidhan Sabha, it needs to be investigated how and under what circumstances he managed to get the canteen contract in the DDA,” he said. “Though the tenders for the same were floated on May 5, 2005, the contract was hurriedly awarded to Malhotra on May 17 even as the Lok Sabha elections had just elected a new dispensation and the NDA regime was in its last caretaking days,” he added.

Apart from the DDA, he said, if at all there was another agency involved in this scam, it was the Slum and JJ Wing of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi where 2,700 files went missing during the scam period and even recently attempts were made to deliberately destroy or burn the relevant files. He said during both these periods, the BJP was in control of the MCD and this aspect also needed to be probed by the CBI.

The Minister also accused the BJP leadership in Delhi of misleading the people. He wondered if the BJP leaders were afraid that their names would be exposed and were therefore demanding that any agency other than the CBI probe the case.

“All apparent facts as well as suggestive indications point towards the direct involvement of various leaders of the BJP in the scam,” he alleged.

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