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Docs in the dock in Noida land scam

Top ICMR scientists transferred Rs 70- crore tract  of govt land to themselves to build society flats 

If Mumbai's Adarsh scam saw former service chiefs, politicos and bureaucrats help themselves to flats meant for Kargil heroes and war widows, a multi- crore realty fraud allegedly involving senior scientists has been unearthed in Noida.

The CBI has homed in on the retired top brass of the Indian Council of Medical Research ( ICMR) for allegedly transferring a Rs 70- crore tract of prime government land in the name of a private group housing society by paying just a fraction of its market value. 

Among those booked by the investigating agency are former ICMR director- general Dr N. K. Ganguly, ex- director of the Institute of Cytology and Preventive Oncology (ICPO) Dr B. C. Das and several other senior officials. Sources said the CBI registered an FIR on November 30 after conducting a preliminary inquiry.

The 9,712.62 square metre ( 2.5 acres) plot — the size of nearly two football fields — under the scanner is situated in the heart of Noida’s Sector 35. The imposing building of the society is only a stone’s throw away from the Sector 32 Metro station with the swank Noida City Centre also in its vicinity.

Real estate developers are of the view that owing to the ideal location of the property, its current value could be in the range of Rs 65,000 to Rs 70,000 per square metre. Another reason why the realty rates have witnessed a disproportionately sharp escalation in the area is that there is a land crunch here, they feel.

However, experts add that the Noida Authority could give land to cooperative housing societies at concessional prices.

The seeds of the Noida land scam were sown in March 1992 when the plot of land was allotted to the Sector 39- based ICPO — an affiliate of the ICMR — to build its staff quarters. The ICPO took possession of the plot after spending around Rs 2 crore. 

The institute, however, failed to start construction till March 2006, for which the penalty amount alone amounted to Rs 2.28 crore. It was at this stage that officials are believed to have begun thinking of using the plot for an altogether different purpose.

According to the CBI probe, Das sent a letter to then ICMR senior DDG ( administration) Mohinder Singh, enclosing a request by 51 employees to use the plot for their own group housing society. The staff were willing to pay over ` 4 crore — the sum of the amount for which the ICPO purchased the plot in 1992 and the penalty that was imposed.

Singh forwarded the proposal to P. D. Seth, who was at that time the ICMR financial adviser, and Ganguly. The two are understood to have approved the scheme.

The executive engineer A. K. Srivastava conveyed the decision to the ICPO officials and the land was then transferred in the name of the ICPO- ICMR Cooperative Group Housing Society, the CBI found.

Construction work for the employees’ housing society got under way at the site  in 2007, CBI officials said. The agency found that Noida’s land prices had recorded an astronomical rise during 1992- 2007 — from Rs 960 to Rs 18,000 per square metre. While the plot should, therefore, have fetched nearly Rs 17.5 crore, the private housing society paid only Rs 4.34 crore for it.

Investigations revealed that not only did many senior officials facilitate the transfer of the land, they also became members of the society. 

MAIL TODAY visited the site on  Saturday and discovered that hectic construction activity was in progress despite the case being probed by the CBI. As many as 102 flats had already come up, though only one was occupied.

Guards on duty at the building said Ganguly owned a flat on the ninth floor, while Das and Seth were also members of the society. Further inquiries revealed that most flat owners had other properties in Delhi or the National Capital Region ( NCR). For his part, Ganguly said: “ All rules were followed and documentation exists. We even sought the opinion of the law ministry and were advised by solicitor general ( SG) G. E. Vahanvati as well as additional SG Raju Ramchandran.” Ganguly further explained: “ We were told that the General Financial Rules did not apply in this case. The plot was about to be surrendered to the Noida Authority as the staff quarters had not been built, so we acted and salvaged it. Earlier, the high court had been moved over the method of flat allotment but no merit was found in the plea.” 

Das claimed that the land was transferred to the cooperative society because there was no demand for staff flats. “ The interpretation that it is a government plot is wrong. The Noida Authority had given three plots to the ICPO. While one was for the institute, another was for a hospital and the third for the staff quarters. But there were no takers for the employee flats. Moreover, both the Noida Authority and the ICMR granted us permission to build the society. Nearly Rs 9 crore was paid to purchase the plot, which means there was no loss to the ICPO,” he said.

“The CBI has registered a case under the Prevention of Corruption Act and section 120- B (conspiracy) against Ganguly, Seth, Das and other unknown persons. “ We feel that rules have been violated and several people have benefited from the allotment of land,” a senior CBI official said.