Indraprastha Gas, a joint venture between state-owned GAIL and BPCL, has come under the scanner after it purchased two parcels of land at three times the price prevailing in the market.
With complaints having reached the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), the land scam is likely to rock IGL in the coming days. The same complaint has also been sent to the office of the Chief Vigilance Commissioner CVC)
Sources say that in August, the PMO directed the Petroleum Secretary to initiate quick action to a complaint filed by a whistleblower against IGL. The PMO received two complaints, first in April, 2021 and then in July, 2021, alleging purchase of land parcels by IGL at inflated prices. IGL has allegedly purchased two land parcels in Karnal and one in Gurugram in Haryana at rates much higher than the prevailing market rates.
The complaints say that in July, 2019, IGL purchased a 3000 square metre land in Karnal (Haryana). This chunk of land was bought by the owner for Rs. 1.65 crore in January, 2019, and after a period of just six months, IGL bought the same piece of land for a whopping Rs. 5.80 crores, almost thrice the amount of the original purchase.
Moreover, the land, which is said to be purchased for setting up a City Gate Station, was not even applied for CLU (Change of Land Use) by IGL.
The other complaint pertains to another 2000 square metres of land in Gurugram which IGL bought to set up another City Gate Station. IGL had bought that land at Rs 6.70 crore, in an area where the existing rate of the land is around just Rs. 36 lakh per acre. IGL did not secure Change of Land Use and also this chunk of land is disputed as the high court has put a stay on the land.
In the letter to the PMO, the complainant has mentioned the names of three senior IGL officials namely Ashim Batra, Senior Vice-President; Ajai Tyagi, Senior Vice-President and Pavneet Singh Batra, Chief General Manager (CNG Projects & Planning). Present Director (Marketing) GAIL, E.S. Ranganathan was the Managing Director of IGL at that time.
