PETITION IN PUBLIC INTEREST SUBMITTED TO THE HON’BLE SUPREME COURT BY GFILES REGARDING THE GREAT LAND ROBBERY IN HARYANA. HOW HOODA ALONG WITH HIS CRONIES PLUNDERED HARYANA IN HIS 9 YEARS OF RULE. p10 February 10, 2014 ` VOL. 7, ISSUE 11 JAPAN ABEPLOMACY JEFF KINGSTON p76 gfilesindia.com Haryana’s Venod Sharma Kunal Bhadoo Congress MLA, Ambala Hooda’s son-in-law De facto Chief Kabul Chawla KP Singh Ministers? Owner, BPTP Owner, DLF p68 Sameer Gehlaut Arvind Walia Anil Bhalla MG DEVASAHAYAM Owner, Indiabulls Owner, Ramprastha Owner, Vatika Builders RACE FOR PM From the Editor T was March 2013, when Chhattar Singh, Principal Secretary (PS) to the Chief Minister of Haryana was about to retire and the Inew incumbent had to be selected. There were many officers in line. At the time, I met one of the senior-most officers, who too desired the prestigious post. We discussed the possibilities about who would be selected by vol. 7, ISSUE 11 | FEBRUARY 2014 Bhupinder Singh Hooda, the Chief Minister of Haryana. In the discussion, he said Anil Tyagi | editor that the selection required the tacit consent of Venod Sharma, the controversial TR Ramachandran | executive editor Niranjan Desai | roving editor Congress MLA and liquor baron. I was taken aback. He further said that not only GS Sood | consulting business editor Venod Sharma, but the PS to CM also needed the backing of the influential builder Rakesh Bhardwaj | editorial consultant lobby of Haryana. As a journalist, this was the first clue to the Cover Story that Arvind Tiwari | director, business development Naresh Minocha | associate editor we carry in this issue. I sensed a big scam. Following this conversation, I toured Neeraj Mahajan | associate editor the State many times and met a lot of leaders, officers and common people. The Alok Jain | coordinator (maharashtra) Ajit Ujjainkar | bureau chief (mumbai) story built up slowly. What our Associate Editor Neeraj Mahajan unravelled was Harishchandra Bhat | associate editor (bengaluru) shocking—a complete surrender of the State administrative machinery before Venugopalan | bureau chief (bengaluru) Kanika Srivastava | editorial coordinator the almighty builder mafia. I have been covering Haryana for the last 31 years Mayank Awasthi | reporter and in my experience, no Chief Minister had ever been influenced by an extra- Pawan Kumar | production coordinator constitutional authority in the selection of a PS in the Chief Minister’s Secretariat. Sumer Singh | assistant manager, logistics Nipun Jain | finance Not only the PS, but also the District Collectors (DC) and Superintendent of Police Gautam Das | legal consultant (SP) have always been the personal choice of the Chief Minister. Crossmedia Solutions | edit & design Madan Lal | Webmaster Venod Sharma; Kunal Bhadoo, Hooda’s son-in-law; Kabul Chawla, business- advertising & marketing man and close associate of Hooda; Anil Bhalla, CMD Vatika Group; Arvind Walia, [email protected] owner of Ramprastha Developers Pvt Ltd; KP Singh, DLF Chairman; and, Sameer U K SHARMA— +919717588883 e-mail: [email protected] Gehlaut of Indiabulls were the names that figured prominently in the search for RAKESH ARORA— +919810648809 the story. Senior officers confided that nothing moved without their go-ahead. SAKSHAY PAHUJA— +918527006688 e-mail: [email protected] According to the whispers, they are the de facto chief ministers of Haryana. mumbai: 48/C-1, Areshwar, Mhada, S.V.P. Nagar, The State has approximately 200 builders, who are constructing the so-called Andheri(W), Mumbai 400 053 bengaluru: 2210, 10b main road, 3 block, modern Haryana. It is astonishing that these 200 builders have around 20,000 jayanagar, bengaluru 560 011 companies registered with the Registrar of Companies. How the web of these CONTACT — +91 9845730298 e-mail: [email protected] companies is allegedly converting huge amounts of black money into white and $1,/7<$*,35,17(5 38%/,6+(5 vice versa, is a matter that needs further investigation. QGIORRUGGDVLWH QHZUDMLQGHUQDJDUQHZGHOKLă In the early 1990s, the Delhi Lease and Finance Company (DLF) started devel- 7(/)$; oping some patches of land in Gurgaon, but it was on a very small scale. Getting licences and acquiring land was a tough task as the land-owning community was +All information in gfiles is obtained from sources that the management considers reliable, and is disseminated to readers not willing to surrender the land for private colonisation. So, DLF first used to without any responsibility on our part. Any opinions or views buy the land from farmers and then allegedly KP Singh personally used to meet on any contemporary or past topics, issues or developments expressed by third parties, whether in abstract or in interviews, the Chief Minister for change of land use (CLU). All the Lals (Bansi, Bhajan and are not necessarily shared by us. Copyright exclusively with Sarvashrestha Media Pvt. Ltd. All rights reserved throughout Devi) of Haryana were clued into the sentiments of the masses. But, a new era the world. Reproduction of any material of this magazine in of State planning surfaced with Bhupinder Singh Hooda coming to power. It is whole, or in part(s), in any manner, without prior permission, is totally prohibited. The publisher accepts no responsibility for for the architectural institutes, administrators and town planners to study how any material lost or damaged in transit. The publisher reserves the right to refuse, withdraw or otherwise deal with any a city can be planned without water, electricity, roads or other public amenities. advertisement without explanation. All advertisements must The clearance of 100 per cent Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in real estate by the comply with the Indian Advertisements Code. Published and printed by Anil Tyagi on behalf of Sarvashrestha Media Pvt. Ltd Manmohan Singh government opened up the Pandora’s Box in Haryana. Today, at Kala Jyothi Process Pvt Ltd. E-125, Site-B, Surajpur Ind. Area, Gautam Budh Nagar, Greater Noida-201306 U.P. (INDIA). All the real estate sector in Haryana presents an ugly state of affairs—unorganised disputes are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of competent and unprotected labour working on haphazard and hurriedly constructed castles. courts in New Delhi only Hooda’s vision of development in Haryana includes almost everyone who can enrich him, his friends and families, ignoring the people of the State. gfiles is taking the cause before the Hon’ble Supreme Court as a public interest initiative, to decide what a citizen of a State should do when the State administrative machinery becomes subservient to extra-constitutional authorities. ANIL TYAGI Download the gfiles app [email protected] gfiles inside the government www.indianbuzz.com vol. 7, issue 11 | February 2014 3 CONTENTS LETTERS [email protected] 6 Bric-a-Brac posts & hosts MG DEVASAHAYAM HOODA SELLING HARYANA didate. I think the recent assembly elec- 10 Petition in Public Interest TO BUILDERS p26 TTEST p36 LL INSIGHT A tions should be a lesson for Congressmen JIGNESH, FA THE GREAT LAND ROBBERY CAT OF January , 5 2014 ` VOL. 7, ISSUE 10 OM NARAIN VAID STARGAZER and they better pull up their socks before KDU\DQDLVQRWDVWDWHLWLVUHDOHVWDWH FIRST STIRRINGS p42 PHQLQVKDGRZVWKRVHZKRSXOOWKH the general elections. SROLWLFDOVWULQJV gfilesindia.com R Sharma via email WKHESWSDQGGOIVDJD OHJDF\RIFPVDQGSUHVLGHQW·VUXOH *LYHZKDW\RXJHW XQODZIXODFWVLQKRRGDHUD This is not the first time when an Indian GHVSRWLFKRRGD has been treated in a highhanded manner PRGXVRSHUDQGLKRZIDYRXUVDUH JUDQWHGOHJDOO\ by the US. I must say that the incidences GHYHORSPHQWRYHUGULYH" covered by the writer Niranjan Desai (‘Give FU\LQWKHZLOGHUQHVVIHHEOHYRLFHV Fading what you get’, gfiles, January 2014) give us TXHVWLRQVIRUKRRGD Halo complete overview of the image of India in KRRGD·VFRWHULH the eyes of the US. This is a matter of self GZDUNDH[SUHVVZD\QHLWKHUH[SUHVV respect and self-esteem on both the QRUZD\³MXVWDVSHFXODWRU·VGHQ national and international stage, that how SUD\HU 'LPLQLVKLQJUHWXUQV Indians are being treated by other coun- UHSO\E\NDEXOFKDZOD·VODZ\HUV IURPG\QDVW\ tries. By compiling previous such incidenc- 62 Politics It is more or less clear from the current es, not only between India and US, but UVVDQGEMSVDPHFRLQ scenario and the results of the elections also with Brazil, Nigeria, UK, the writer has of five states that the ruling party’s rule made an extraordinary effort to highlight 68 Governance E\HE\HPDQPRKDQVLQJK would probably come to an end. such incidences and urge the higher Although speeches and political rallies authorities to take stringent steps. 72 ZKHUHDUHRXUROGDJHSROLFLHV" by Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi Madan Lal on blog is not creating any place in the hearts 76 Global Scan MDSDQH\HVLQGLDQGHDOV and minds of the common people. .HMULZDOVKRZVWKHZD\ Subramanium (‘Diminishing returns from I am not at all satisfied with the way 81 Book Review dynasty’, gfiles, January 2014) has done Kejriwal is working. Kejriwal has con- MDVZDQWVLQJKRQQDWLRQDOVHFXULW\ an excellent analysis of what all is cur- fessed that he intends to bring anarchy in 82 My Corner rently going on inside and outside the India. Besides showing a way to others YHUEDORUGHUVZRQ·WGR Congress. It shows that, by just belong- and being set as an example, he is ing to the first family, Rahul cannot destroying the pattern of governance! 84 Silly Point impact the public without proving him- What is his mission? Does he want to WKHNHMULZDOSKHQRPHQRQ self practically.