HC asks CBI to probe Bulandshahr land acquisition scam

The Allahabad High Court on Monday directed the CBI to probe the alleged misappropriation of public funds in the Bulandshahr land acquisition case. Justice Sudhir Agarwal and Justice S S Shamshery passed the order on petitions filed by some farmers.

The matter goes back to a 1991 notification for acquisition of about 969 acres by Uttar Pradesh State Industrial Development Corporation (UPSIDC). The Special Land Development Officer at that time determined Rs 2.87 crore as compensation for the land. When approached, a court hiked the compensation to Rs 7.13 crore.

But some farmers did not give up the possession of the land, according to material submitted before the court. In 2013, the UPSIDC entered into agreement with the Tehri Hydro Development Corporation to transfer the land to it.

Officials on their own allegedly increased the total compensation to Rs 387 crore, calling it ex gratia compensation even though the farmers had already been paid. "The top officials on their own had decided to pay ex gratia compensation, which was known to them to be illegal," the two-judge bench observed.

The court ordered the Central Bureau of Investigation to conduct a preliminary probe and register an FIR. It asked the agency to submit a report on the status of the investigation in a sealed cover after three months. The court fixed May 11 as the next date of hearing.