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Robert Vadra, Sonia Gandia son-in-law, Real King

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Vadra: 'A little help from my friends'. Vadra, PEP (Politically Exposed Person), hero of the SoniaG revolution with Super-Z security.

Who to believe: Vadra's bank or balance sheet?
BS Reporter / New Delhi Oct 12, 2012, 00:02 IST

The curious dealings of Robert Vadra have become even more curious, with a bank mentioned in the balance sheet of one of his companies denying it ever undertook a transaction clearly stated in the firm’s auditor’s report.

Mangalore-headquartered Corporation Bank has said in its reply to a Business Standard report (Vadra: ‘A little help from my friends’, October 10), which pointed out that the bank’s Friends Colony branch had given an overdraft of Rs 7.94 crore to Vadra’s firm Sky Light Hospitality, that such a transaction did not take place. “We have gone though (sic) our records and do not find that any such facility was granted to M/s Sky Light Hospitality as has been reported,” the bank said in a fax this evening, quoting the article mentioned, but did not deny it had business dealings with Vadra or any of his firms.
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The overdraft of Rs 7.94 crore by the Friend’s Colony Branch of Corporation Bank, however, is clearly present on page 5 of the auditor’s report for Sky Light Hospitality for 2007-2008, under the head ‘Schedules Forming Part of Account for the Year Ended 31st March 2008’. This document is publicly available on the ministry of corporate affairs (MCA) website.
The document is signed by both Robert Vadra and his mother, Maureen Vadra, both directors in Sky Light Hospitality, as well as chartered accountant, S Ramachandra Bhat, of SRC Bhat and Associates on September 5, 2008.

With Corporation Bank, whose name and branch is plainly stated in the balance sheet, now denying it extended any such facility to Vadra, the veracity of the information with the MCA itself is unclear. The implications are far-reaching. If the transaction was never made, as asserted by Corporation Bank, then it is not beyond reasonable doubt the mistake lies with the company in question, Sky Light Hospitality, or its auditor, SRC Bhat and Associates, or both.

The question also remains open, as a result of this, that if Corporation Bank did not provide Vadra with Rs 7.94 crore, then where else could it have come from? The amount is crucial because the same year Sky Light Hospitality paid the first instalment of Rs 7.94 crore to buy land in Haryana’s Manesar, thereby kicking off Vadra’s foray into the real estate business.

http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/who-to-believe-vadra/s-bank-or-balance-sheet/489337/

Vadra: 'A little help from my friends'

Robert Vadra, who is at the centre of a controversy over his property dealings with realty giant DLF and others, began investing in real estate five years ago, in 2007-08. He was already a wealthy man by then, not a struggling businessman who could scrape only a few lakh rupees together as capital for his new real estate ventures.

His Artex export firm had the wherewithal to lend Rs 4.45 crore to one of his new firms (Sky Light Hospitality) in 2008-09. The previous year, the company’s directors (there were only two, Mr Vadra and his mother Maureen) had lent Rs 1 crore to another of his real estate firms (Sky Light Realty).

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Apart from being wealthy, he must also have had excellent relations with Corporation Bank, whose Friends Colony branch (located close to Mr Vadra’s companies’ offices in the capital) gave an overdraft of Rs 7.94 crore to Sky Light Hospitality. The newly incorporated company at the time had total resources of Rs 1 lakh, being its paid-up share capital.(MONEY’S JOURNEY)

Three crucial decisions gave Mr Vadra a flying start in his real estate foray: the generous overdraft from Corporation Bank, the timely approval from the Haryana government for commercial development of his land and DLF’s decision to buy it at an enhanced value and to advance him most of the purchase price for an extended period
Robert Vadra’s principal real estate companies:

Sky Light Hospitality
Sky Light Realty
His other real estate companies:
Real Earth Estates
Blue Breeze Trading
North India IT Park

Sky Light Hospitality invested the entire loan amount plus share capital in a piece of land at Manesar. That was the first instalment, with a second instalment of Rs 7.43 crore paid the following year (2008-09).

It would be unusual for any public sector bank to fund virtually the entire value of a big-ticket land purchase; perhaps the bank already had a business relationship with Mr Vadra, or they knew of his family connections, or both. Whatever the case, they must have considered him a good risk — which, as it turned out, he was because the money was returned in a year or less.

DLF has disclosed that in March 2008, the Haryana government gave Sky Light Hospitality a letter of intent (LOI) for developing the Manesar land commercially. As DLF said in its press release on Saturday, “This (land) was licensable to develop a Commercial Complex and the LOI from Govt of Haryana to develop it for a Commercial Complex had been received in March 2008 itself.” If you are of a suspicious bent of mind, you might wonder whether the fact that Mr Vadra had bought the land influenced the state government when it decided to give the LOI. But since the land is described as being in Sohna tehsil, just off the National Highway, in the newly developing industrial-commercial area of Manesar (beyond Gurgaon), it is a decision that may be entirely defensible.

The following year (2008-09), Sky Light Hospitality paid the second instalment of Rs 7.43 crore for the Manesar land, making for a total payment of Rs 15.38 crore. It was the land bought with this money which Mr Vadra promptly offered to DLF, who agreed to pay a handsome Rs 58 crore for the 3.5 acres. DLF says in its press release that it took possession of the land in the same year (2008-09), and paid an advance of Rs 50 crore in instalments.

Three crucial decisions gave Mr Vadra a flying start in his real estate foray: the generous overdraft from Corporation Bank, the timely approval from the Haryana government for commercial development of Mr Vadra’s land, and DLF’s decision to buy it at an enhanced value and to advance him most of the purchase price for an extended period.

Sky Light Hospitality’s regulatory filings show Rs 10 crore received from DLF as advance in 2008-09, the year in which it paid the second instalment on the Manesar land.

Separately, another Rs 15 crore advance was received from DLF for the Faridabad land deal, which later fell through.

By 2009-10, Rs 50 crore had been received, separate from the Rs 10 crore received earlier and which apparently remained with Sky Light Hospitality till 2010-11. While Rs 15 crore was returned on account of the abortive Faridabad deal, Sky Light Hospitality was now cash-rich — in less than two years of Mr Vadra having got going in real estate with a single transaction. The company would now go on to fund Mr Vadra’s other real estate firms, investments in high-end apartments, and other transactions which would follow thick and fast.

DLF says once the required approvals came through, the (Manesar) land was conveyanced in DLF’s name. It does not say when.

However, even in 2010-11, Sky Light Hospitality’s books show an advance of a little over Rs 58 crore (equivalent to the Manesar sale price), and no booking of profits on the deal (which would have to be done if the land had been conveyanced to DLF). Perhaps this was done in 2011-12, for which the regulatory filings are not yet available.

The obvious question is how land that was valued in 2007-08 at Rs 15.38 crore came to be worth Rs 58 crore the next year (assuming that DLF paid the correct market price, and nothing more).

The likely explanation would be that the permission to commercially exploit the land had overnight multiplied its value, in which case Mr Vadra played the role of a clever land developer. Meanwhile, since Rs 58 crore stayed as an advance, no profits were booked and no taxes paid on the Rs 42.62 crore profit from the deal.

Already, by 2008-09, Mr Vadra was busy deploying the large dollops of money that had come to Sky Light Hospitality: Rs 25 crore from DLF as advance on two separate deals, Rs 4.45 crore from Artex, and Rs 1.55 crore from a company called Carnival International Estates.

He wiped out the overdraft with Corporation Bank, paid the second instalment on the Manesar land, and lent Rs 5.5 crore to two other companies of his — Sky Light Realty got Rs 3.5 crore and Blue Breeze Trading got Rs 2 crore. A further Rs 10 crore lay in the bank.

Sky Light Realty, meanwhile, had taken the Rs 1 crore lent to it by its directors in 2007-08, and in its very first transaction, promptly deposited it with DLF, perhaps for booking flats (which DLF says was done in September 2008). The following year, armed with Rs 3.5 crore received from Sky Light Hospitality, another Rs 1.5 crore from Carnival, and Rs 15 lakh from Artex, Sky Light Realty went shopping.

It bought land in Hayyatpur for Rs 1 crore, more land in Palwal (both places in Haryana) for Rs 42 lakh, and paid DLF another Rs 2 crore for multiple flat bookings. Some Rs 78 lakh stayed in bank accounts.

By the next year (2009-10), Artex had got back its original loan to Sky Light Hospitality, and it now increased its loan to Sky Light Realty to Rs 2.84 crore. Sky Light Realty shows the apartment in Aralias as a joint venture with Mr Vadra, valued in Sky Light Realty’s books at Rs 89 lakh, while furniture and fixtures in the flat are valued at Rs 94 lakh. Another seven flats get booked in the neighbouring Magnolias apartment complex, the payment for these being shown as Rs 5.23 crore, while Rs 5.07 crore has been put into DLF’s Capital Green project in Delhi.

Some of these numbers were mentioned by Mr Arvind Kejriwal when he raked up the whole issue of Mr Vadra’s dealings, last week.

What Kejriwal missed, though, is the balance sheet for the following year (2010-11), in which Sky Light Realty paid a further Rs 8.57 crore for the Aralias flat, making for total payment of Rs 10.4 crore. In its press release, DLF puts the total price of the Aralias flat at Rs 11.9 crore, while the rough cost of the seven Magnolias flats would be in excess of Rs 40 crore (all of which might not have been paid as yet, since the flats are not ready).

Sky Light Hospitality, meanwhile, increased its loan to Sky Light Realty from Rs 3.5 crore to Rs 6.61 crore in 2009-10, the money being shown as being for a joint venture (presumably, the DLF flats). It also gave Rs 2.05 crore to Blue Breeze, and Rs 2 crore to yet another Mr Vadra firm, Real Earth Estates. The company’s biggest investment, though, was in Saket Courtyard Hospitality, its value after booking losses being Rs 31.7 crore.

While Sky Light Hospitality has accumulated losses (but only because the profits on the Manesar land were yet to be booked till 2010-11), Sky Light Realty has prospered; it had Rs 6.65 crore sloshing around in bank current accounts, its income from realty in 2010-11 was Rs 16.5 crore, accumulated reserves were Rs 12 crore, and it paid Rs 1.8 crore as tax on profits.

All that would be small beer compared to the current market value of the properties acquired.

The Aralias and Magnolias flats together would fetch Rs 130 crore or thereabouts, and by DLF’s calculation Mr Vadra’s share in the hotel project would be in excess of Rs 50 crore. His total asset base from the two Sky Light companies — all made by rolling over transactions with DLF, and helped by real estate value appreciation — would be in the vicinity of Rs 200 crore, made in five years with initial capital deployed of about Rs 6 crore.

Not a bad business to be in, you might say. As the Beatles sang long ago, “I get by with a little help from my friends”.

If Mr Vadra had to count his friends in the real estate business, they would be Corporation Bank, the Haryana government and DLF.

If Mr Vadra had to count his friends in the real estate business, they would be Corporation Bank, the Haryana government and DLF

BS Reporters / New Delhi Oct 10, 2012, 00:30 IST

http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/vadra-/a-little-helpmy-friends//489109/

Admin · Guru

IAC and DLF: point-counterpoint on Vadra’s deals

DLF’s ‘Aralias’ project

PTI Robert Vadra

Why should DLF give unsecured interest free loans to Robert Vadra?

DLF’s reply:

We wish to categorically state that the DLF has given NO unsecured loans to Mr. Vadra or any of his companies.

An amount of Rs.65 crore was given as business advances for the purchase of land as per standard industry practice comprising the following two transactions.

M/s Skylight Hospitality Pvt. Ltd. approached us in FY 2008-09 to sell a piece of land measuring approximately 3.5 acres approximately just off NH 8 in Sikohpur village, district Gurgaon. This was licensable to develop a commercial complex and the LoI from the government of Haryana to develop it for a commercial complex had been received in March 2008 itself.

DLF agreed to buy the said plot, given its licensing status and its attractiveness as a business proposition for a total consideration of Rs.58 crore. As per normal commercial practice, the possession of the said plot was taken over by DLF in FY 2008-09 itself and a total sum of Rs.50 crore given as advance in instalments against the Purchase consideration. After receipt of all requisite approvals, the said property was conveyanced in favour of DLF. The average cost of the licensed property in the hands of DLF works out to approx Rs.2,800 psf of FSI, which was comparable with similar transactions in that area. The price of the said property has significantly appreciated today to the benefit of DLF and its shareholders.

M/s Skylight Group of companies also offered us in FY 2008-09 an opportunity to purchase a large land parcel in Faridabad and accordingly, DLF agreed to advance Rs.15 crore in instalments simultaneous to the commencement of due diligence of the said land parcel. After concluding that the said land had certain legal infirmities, we decided against its purchase. Accordingly on DLF’s request, the Skylight group refunded the advance of Rs.15 crore in totality.

To reiterate, at no stage was an interest free loan ever given to the Skylight group. There were two sets of Business Advances against purchase of property, one of which amounting to Rs.50 crore resulted in a satisfactory conclusion of purchase of commercial land and the second advance of Rs.15 crore was fully refunded.

IAC’s rebuttal

DLF has said that no unsecured loans were ever given. This is far from the truth for the following reasons:

a. If one looks at the 2009-10 balance sheet of Real Earth Estates Pvt. Ltd. (Robert Vadra (RV) group company), there is an entry called “Loan from DLF Ltd – Rs.5 crores”. This has been declared as an unsecured loan in the return filed by them in Registrar of Companies.

b. In the same year, Rs.50 crore has been given by DLF to Sky Light Hospitality Private Ltd (SLH), which is another RV group company. According to DLF, SLH sold its land at Manesar for Rs.58 crore to DLF and Rs.50 crore was an advance paid to SLH. Interestingly, this Manesar land was acquired by SLH just a year back for Rs.15.38 crore. How did the price of this land soar to Rs.58 crore? DLF claims that DLF made an advance payment of Rs.50 crore and took possession of this land in 2008-09 itself. This is completely incorrect. The balance sheet for the year ending March 31, 2011 shows that the advance made by DLF as well as the land at Manesar are both still in the possession of SLH. Is it a normal business practice to give an advance of 90 per cent of the amount of transaction and let it remain with the seller for more than two years without even bothering to take possession of land? Is it a normal business practice to let this advance remain interest free? DLF itself borrows money from several sources at quite high cost. Interestingly, SLH used this advance to purchase 50 per cent equity in DLF’s own hotel.

c. SLH received another Rs.10 crore from DLF as “Advance from DLF Ltd (Land account)”. This is also interest free. This money was received by SLH in 2008-09 and remained with them for more than 2 years.

d. DLF advanced another loan of Rs.15 crore in 2008-09 to SLH. DLF claims that this was meant as an advance for some property in Faridabad in which, some legal problems were discovered later. After using that money for about a year, SLH returned it to DLF. DLF did not charge any interest on that. Does that appear to be a normal business practice?

e. What is the difference between the unsecured loans received by Kanimozhi and Robert Vadra?

Why should DLF sell its properties to Vadra at throwaway prices and on the basis of funds obtained by Vadra from DLF itself?

DLF’s reply: ARALIAS

Mr. Vadra purchased one apartment for his personal use in Aralias in September 2008 at the then prevalent market price of Rs.12,000 psft. The total purchase consideration of Rs.11.90 crore was paid by Mr. Vadra, for which the apartment was conveyanced in his favour. We may also mention that while Aralias was initially launched at Rs.1,800 psft, Mr. Vadra’s purchase at Rs.12,000 psft is among the highest prices at which the company sold the apartments in Aralias. The alleged figure of Rs.89 lakh as total purchase consideration is completely incorrect.

IAC’s rebuttal

In the balance sheet of Sky Light realty (SLR) Pvt. Ltd. for the year 2009-10, the Aralias flat is shown to have been purchased for Rs.89.41 lakh. However, in the next year’s balance sheet, there is an increase of Rs.8.57 crore in the property at Aralias. Why did that happen? For how much was this property purchased and when was it purchased? A story appeared in the Economic Times in March 2011 raising questions about Mr. Robert Vadra’s properties. Was this amount increased immediately thereafter? DLF in its response has said that the flat was purchased by the Vadras in 2008 for their personal use and it was transferred to them in the same year. Then how is it that the value of the flat is shown at Rs.89.41 lakh in 2009-10 and suddenly it becomes Rs.10.4 crore (including furniture) in 2010-11.

DLF’s reply: MAGNOLIAS

As part of its real estate business, Skylight group had invested in Magnolias apartments at a price of Rs.10,000 psft in March 2008, which was the prevalent offer price of the company for all its customers. The initial launch price was only Rs.4,500 only at which price a large number of customers made their purchases from the company. The Skylight Group also booked some apartments in the company’s Capital Greens project at the then Company’s offer price of Rs.5,000/6,000 psft which was availed by more than a thousand other customers.

There is no question of offering, let alone selling, Mr. Vadra or his group companies any property at a throwaway price. The allegation that 7 apartments in Magnolias were sold for Rs.5.2 crore only is also completely baseless.

At NO stage was a property ever sold to the Skylight group below the then offered price to all customers. The gains, if any, made by Skylight group, by subsequent retrading would be similar to the gains made by those customers and in line with applicable market price appreciation experienced by all DLF customers in general.

IAC’s rebuttal DLF has said that the Magnolias flats were sold at Rs.10,000 psf to Sky Light Group. At that rate, the cost of each Magnolia flat comes to Rs.5 crore. But in the balance sheet for the year 2009-10 for SLR Pvt. Ltd., it is clearly mentioned in Current assets — “DLF Ltd 7 flats Magnolias – Rs.5.232 crore”. Did Vadra file a wrong balance sheet with the Registrar of Companies?

It is well known that DLF has been given 350 acres of land by Haryana Government for the development of Magnolias project in Gurgaon (where Vadra was allocated 7 apartments). Is that the quid pro quo for DLF giving Vadra the seed money for the purchase of these properties?

DLF’s reply:

An attempt is being made to confuse the Magnolias project with an independent project of 350 acres which was tendered by the Haryana State Industrial and Imports Development Corporation (HSIIDC) for a “Recreation and Leisure project” by a series of well advertised international tender processes in 2009. DLF emerged as the successful bidder after a thorough technical and commercial bidding process carried out in a highly transparent manner. The project is still at a nascent stage.

It may be clarified that DLF secured the project on its own merits by fulfilling the eligibility criteria through a competitive bidding process and NOT through a discretionary allotment by the Haryana government as alleged. We further state that DLF has not been allotted any lands by the State governments of Haryana, Rajasthan or Delhi.

IAC’s rebuttal

Some of the favours given by the Haryana government in this project:

1. International bids were invited for this project. Three parties applied — DLF, Country Heights and Unitech. Financial bids of Unitech and Country Heights were not even opened. They were rejected at the technical stage saying that they did not have experience in constructing and maintaining a golf course. This condition was introduced at the time of evaluating technical bids. Doesn’t it raise suspicion whether this was done to reject other parties and to grant this contract to DLF? From news reports, it is understood that the other two bids were much more than DLF’s bid. This means that the government suffered a loss by giving it to DLF.

2. Out of 350 acres, 75.98 acres of land was owned by the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) and 275 acres of land belonged to HSIIDC. HSIIDC’s mandate is to encourage industry in Haryana. It normally uses the land in its possession to carve out land plots for industrial use. HUDA uses its land for residential purposes. However, in this case, they were expected to simply transfer their land to DLF.

3. Out of 275 acres of land with HSIIDC, 91.97 acres of land is forest land covered under the Punjab Land Preservation Act (PLPA). SC has ordered that lands covered under PLPA should be treated as forest land and cannot be used for non-forest purposes. 161.03 acres of land is under Aravali plantation. This also cannot be used for any other purpose. The Haryana government has assumed the responsibility of seeking permissions from all Central and State government authorities to facilitate it for DLF. Interestingly, the Haryana government has given all this land to DLF without even getting these permissions.

4. No Environmental Impact Assessment was done. The process is believed to have been started but was cancelled midway.

5. As mentioned above, HUDA had to part with 75.98 acres of land for this project. HUDA’s job is to develop residential and commercial plots for the common people. They have done so in the past by developing various sectors in Gurgaon. HUDA had acquired this land a few years ago from the farmers of Gurgaon saying that this land would be used for “Public purpose” for various sectors in Gurgaon, constructing roads, etc. However, now this land was being transferred to DLF, not for “public purpose” but for private profit. This was a fraud on those farmers who had sacrificed their land earlier.

Source: Press Releases from India Against Corruption and DLF

Admin · Guru

HINDU – view and counter view. http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/iac-and-dlf-pointcounterpoint-on-vadras-deals/article3982064.ece

Aralia, Magnolia flat prices soared before Vadra buys
Prices of flats in The Aralias project saw a 370% jump in just 22 months
N Sundaresha Subramanian / Mumbai Oct 12, 2012, 00:02 IST

The value of a flat in DLF’s The Aralias project in Gurgaon rose about four times in less than two years. Compared to an average price of Rs 2,548 per sq ft in November 2006, prices stood at Rs 12,000 per sq ft in September 2008, a 370 per cent jump in 22 months. Even during the boom years of 2007 and 2008, the jump was extraordinary, say analysts.

Last week, DLF said a flat in The Aralias was sold to Robert Vadra, the son-in-law of Congress President Sonia Gandhi, in September 2008, for Rs 11.9 crore. Considering the flat had an area of 10,000 sq ft, the sale price stood at about Rs 12,000 a sq ft, one of the highest rates paid, DLF said. “Mr Vadra’s purchase, at Rs 12,000 per sq ft, is among the highest prices at which the company sold apartments in The Aralias,” DLF said in a release on October 6, following allegations by social activist Arvind Kejriwal.

In its draft offer document dated January 2, 2007, filed with the Securities and Exchange Board of India, DLF said, “The Aralias project consists of 252 residential units with approximately 1.6 million sq ft of saleable area in 11 buildings of 15-17 floors each. The total area of the development is 9.8 acres, with apartment sizes ranging from 5,822 sq ft to 10,803 sq ft. All the apartments in The Aralias have already been sold.” In the document, DLF also said the apartments were sold at an average price of Rs 2,548 per sq ft as on November 30, 2006. This price, too, was the highest per-sq-ft price charged by DLF till that date. Other projects such as Westend Heights (Rs 2,243 per sq ft), Belvedere Park (Rs 2,086 per sq ft) and Windsor Court (Rs 2,030 per sq ft) were cheaper, according to the offer document.
“The Aralias is a luxury residential development located in close proximity to our 18-hole DLF Golf and Country Club. Owners are able to plan and design the layouts of their apartments. Each apartment benefits from amenities such as a car-calling (valet) system, car washing facilities, day-care and playschool facilities. The development also provides club house facilities, including a multipurpose room, a swimming pool and changing rooms, squash and tennis courts, a gymnasium, a convenience shop and centralised services,” the offer document said.

This was not the only initial public offering (IPO) document DLF had filed. In May 2006, it had filed a draft under the name DLF Universal. According to that statement, as on March 31, 2006, the sale price of The Aralias property was Rs 2,373 per sq ft. There was, therefore, a difference of about 10 per cent in the average unit price in a span of eight months —March 2006 and November 2006.

The controversial The Magnolias project, too, showed remarkable escalation in prices just before Vadra’s investment. In November 2006, the average sale price of The Magnolias property stood at Rs 5,898 per sq ft. By March 2008, the price rose 70 per cent.

DLF had stated, “Skylight group had invested in The Magnolias apartments at a price of Rs 10,000 per sq ft in March 2008. This was the prevalent offer price of the company for all its customers.”

The IPO document describes The Magnolias project as “one of the first assignments for DLF Laing O’Rourke” The project consists of 402 residential units in five buildings of 19 floors each, covering approximately 2.5 million sq ft of saleable area. The total area of the development is 22.77 acres, with apartments ranging from 5,825 sq ft to 9,800 sq ft in size.”

Though Vadra had also bought flats in DLF’s Country Greens in Delhi, no details of this project were found in the IPO documents.

The DLF IPO hit bourses in June 2007, raising about Rs 9,600 crore. The company’s shares, sold for Rs 550 apiece in the IPO, hit a high of Rs 1,200 in January 2008, before recording a fall. on Thursday, they gained nearly four per cent, closing at Rs 221 on the BSE.

http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/aralia-magnolia-flat-prices-soared-before-vadra-buys/489340/

Admin · Guru

All you wanted to know about DLF-Vadra deal -- Vivek Kaul

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All you wanted to know about DLF-Vadra deal

Vivek Kaul / Wednesday, October 10, 2012 10:00 IST

Robert Vadra, son-in-law of Sonia Gandhi, has been in the news lately for his dealings with India’s biggest listed real estate company DLF. There are a lot of question that the deal has raised. Let’s try and understand some of the answers to those questions

Who owns Sky Light Hospitality Private Ltd?

The company has issued 50,000 shares with a face value of Rs 10 each and so has an issued capital of Rs 5 lakh. Of this Robert Vadra owns 49,900 shares and his mother Maureen owns 100 shares. So the company is basically owned by Robert Vadra.

What are the total assets of the company?

As per the balance sheet dated March 31, 2011, the company has total assets amounting to Rs48.53 crore. This includes fixed assets of two parcels of land worth Rs 16.18 crore. The total investments of the company are worth Rs 24.37 crore. The cash and bank balances amount to Rs 4.77 crore and the loans and advances are at Rs 3.21 crore. All these assets add up to the total assets of Rs 48.53 crore.

How can a company with a capital of Rs 5 lakh have assets worth Rs 48.53 crore?

Robert Vadra and his mother Maureen’s contribution to the business is a measly Rs 5 lakh. How did that Rs 5 lakh grow into assets of Rs 48.53crore? A simple explanation is that Sky Light would have borrowed money and used that borrowed money to buy land, make investments, have cash in the bank and to give out loans

This would mean that the company would have to borrow Rs 48.48 crore (Rs 48.53 crore – Rs 5 lakh of capital). But why would anyone in their right minds give a loan of Rs 48.48 crore to a company with a shareholder capital of Rs 5 lakh?This would imply a debt to equity ratio of 970. Also as the balance sheet of the company reveals it has not taken any loans.

So where did this money come from?

For this one needs to take a look at the current liabilities side of the balance sheet of the company. The current liabilities of the company are at Rs 58.05 crore. Of this amount the company received an advance of Rs 50 crore from DLF against a plot of land. As a recent statement issued by DLF says “M/s Skylight Hospitality Pvt Ltd approached us in FY 2008-09 to sell a piece of land measuring approximately 3.5 acres just off NH 8 in Village Sikohpur, Dist Gurgaon…DLF agreed to buy the said plot, given its licensing status and its attractiveness as a business proposition for a total consideration of Rs 58 crores. As per normal commercial practice, the possession of the said plot was taken over by DLF in FY 2008-09 itself and a total sum of Rs 50 crores given as advance in instalments against the purchase consideration.” So DLF gave Rs 50 crore as an advance to Sky Light against a piece of land owned by Sky Light. This land is showed to be worth Rs 15.38 crore in the balance sheet of Vadra’s Sky Light. Accounting values assets at historical cost. So that is the price Sky Light must have bought that piece of land. This raises the question as to where did Vadra raise this Rs 15.38 crore from? DLF comes into the picture only later when the company decides to buy a piece of land from Vadra’s Sky Light.

But what is the difference between a loan and an advance?

Take the case of a salary advance. When any individual takes a salary advance there is no contractual obligation between him the company and at the same time the company does not charge him an interest. The company gives an advance to the employee primarily because there is a relationship between them. Typically employees who have just joined find it difficult to get a salary advance. The same logic works when one company gives an advance to another company. So the first question to ask here is that was there a relationship between Vadra and DLF? Vadra had told the Economic Times in March last year “I have a good understanding with DLF. Our children are friends, we are friends.” Now just because two promoters are friends does that mean one company will give an advance to another? That is something both DLF and Vadra need to throw light on.

Isn’t this advance of Rs 50 crore a part of Skylight’s current liability?

Yes that is the case. A current liability is essentially a debt or an obligation of a company that needs to be paid up in one year. As DLF’s statement says the advance was paid in instalments starting in 2008-2009 (the period between April 1, 2008 and March 31, 2009). This advance has remained on the books of the company till March 31, 2011. This means that DLF had given an advance to Vadra’s Sky Light for a period of greater than two years. Can this be categorized as an advance? Can this be categorized as a current liability? From the way this looks DLF basically gave Vadra an interest free loan and tried to pass it off as an ‘advance’.

Where does Arvind Kejriwal fit into all this?

What Kejriwal is saying that Vadra’s Sky Light used a portion of this Rs 50 crore advance to buy property from DLF. Sky Light also has a 50% stake in Hilton Garden Inn Hotel, Saket, New Delhi, which it has set up with DLF. The main question that Kejriwal is asking “It is well known that DLF has been given 350 acres of land by Haryana govt for the development of Magnolia project in Gurgaon (where Vadra was allocated 7 apartments) and has been given various other properties and benefits by the Congress governments in Haryana and Delhi. Is that the quid pro quo for

DLF giving Vadra the seed money for the purchase of these massive properties worth hundreds of crores?”

In simple English what this means is that because DLF gave Vadra what seems to be an interest free loan rather than advance, did the Congress government return these favours by allocating land to DLF in lieu of that? Was there a quid pro quo? While this allegation can be probed, it will be next to impossible to establish.

Where does all this leave DLF?

The gross debt of DLF stands at a whopping Rs 25,060 crore as on June 30, 2012. At the end of March 31, 2012, the gross debt had stood at Rs 25,066 crore. The annual report of DLF points out “the company’s borrowings from banks and others have a effective weighted average rate of 12.38% per annum.”

We can safely say that this rate of interest of 12.38% wouldn’t have changed dramatically between March, 2012 and June, 2012. So a company which has debt of more than Rs 25,000 crore and is borrowing at greater than an interest rate of 12% is basically giving an interest free loan to Vadra. The high debt level has been a huge concern for the analysts who track the company. As Sandipan Pal an analyst with Motilal Oswal wrote in a recent report “DLF’s high debt has been a key concern for investors; however, we believe leverage of Rs 16,000-17,000 crore would be a sustainable level for the company.”

Also DLF says that its deal with Vadra is normal commercial practice. If that is the case it would be great if the company could give us a list of other entrepreneurs to whom the company has given an advance running into Rs 50 crore for a period of greater than two years. That should be put everybody who is crying foul in their place.

(Vivek Kaul is a writer. He can be reached at vivek.kaul@gmail.com)

URL of the article: http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_all-you-wanted-to-know-about-dlf-vadra-deal_1750865-all

All you wanted to know about the DLF-Vadra deal: Part 2

DNA / Thursday, October 11, 2012 10:00 IST

Several leaders of the Congress party have termed the accusations being made by Arvind Kejriwal-led India Against Corruption (IAC) against Robert Vadra as cheap publicity. Rashid Alvi on Tuesday even questioned the veracity of the documents put out by Kejriwal and company. But a detailed look at the balance sheets of the companies owned by Vadra and statements made by DLF throw up several questions. Vadra is the son-in-law of Sonia Gandhi, the president of the Congress party, and chairperson of the United Progressive Alliance which governs this country. DLF is India’s largest listed real estate company.

How does DLF justify giving Vadra an advance of Rs 50 crore?

Robert Vadra owns 99.8% of Sky Light Hospitality Private Ltd. The balance sheet of the company as on March 31, 2009, shows an entry of a plot of land in Manesar, Haryana, valued at Rs15.38 crore. This means that somewhere during the period April 1, 2008, to March 31, 2009, the company must have bought this piece of land for Rs 15.38 crore. This can be concluded because the balance sheet for March 31, 2008, does not show this entry.

Vadra’s Sky Light Hospitality got an advance of Rs50 crore against this land from DLF. The company says this in a statement released on October 6. “Skylight Hospitality Pvt Ltd approached us in FY 2008-09 (i.e. the period between April 1, 2008 and March 31, 2009) to sell a piece of land measuring approximately 3.5 acres...DLF agreed to buy the said plot, given its licensing status and its attractiveness as a business proposition for a total consideration of Rs58 crores. As per normal commercial practice, the possession of the said plot was taken over by DLF in FY 2008-09 itself and a total sum of Rs50 crores given as advance in installments against the purchase consideration.”

This statement tells us that Vadra’s Sky Light Hospitality approached DLF to sell a piece of land of 3.5acres sometime during the period April 1, 2008 and March 31,2009. DLF agreed to buy this land and valued it at Rs 58 crore. Against this valuation it gave Sky Light Hospitality an advance of Rs 50 crore.

What is interesting is that Sky Light bought a piece of land for Rs15.38 crore anytime between April 1, 2008 and March 31, 2009. They approached DLF to buy it during the same period. And DLF agreed to buy it for Rs 58 crore.So in a period of less than one year the value of the land went up by Rs 42.62 crore (Rs 58 crore – Rs 15.38 crore) or 277%. This doesn’t really sound right given that it was precisely at that point of time the international financial crisis was starting and both real estate as well as stock markets were weak.

Did DLF really complete take over the land plot in the financial year 2008-2009 (the period between April 1, 2008 and March 31, 2009)?

DLF’s statement says very clearly that it took over the possession of the land in 2008-2009 from Sky Light Hospitality. If that was the case why does this land show up as a fixed asset in the balance sheet of Vadra’s Sky Light Hospitality as on March 31, 2011? Even the advance of Rs50 crore given by DLF shows up as a current liability on the balance sheet of Sky Light Hospitality. How could the land be with both Vadra and DLF at the same time? This is something that DLF needs to throw light on.

Was DLF’s advance to Vadra’s Sky Light Hospitality really an interest free loan?

DLF’s statement says very clearly that the company started giving the advance amounting to a total of Rs 50 crore to Vadra starting in the year 2008-2009. This advance was still on the books of Sky Light Hospitality as on March 31, 2011, listed as a current liability.

A current liability is a debt or an obligation which is to be repaid within a period of less than one year. Interestingly there is another entry of an advance of Rs 10 crore from DLF which is there on the balance sheets of Sky Light Hospitality dated March 31, 2010 and March 21, 2009. This is again an advance which was given for a period of greater than one year.

DLF in its statement also claimed not to have given any loans to Vadra. Real Earth Estates Private Ltd, another company owned by Vadra shows an entry of Rs 5 crore as a loan from DLF as on March 31, 2010. The IAC media release points out that the company in a filing with Registrar of Companies had specified that this was an unsecured loan. An unsecured loan is a loan in which the lender does not take any collateral against the loan and relies on the borrower’s promise to return the loan.

There are two conclusions that one can draw here. One is that what DLF thinks is an advance looks more like an interest free loan to Vadra. And two, its claim of not having given any loans to Vadra don’t hold good.

What did Vadra do with these so called advances and real loans?

Sky Light Hospitality had a Rs 25 crore advance from DLF on its books as on March 31, 2009. A small portion of this was used to pick up a stake of 50% in a hotel joint venture with DLF. This company called Saket Courtyard Hospitality runs one hotel in Saket, New Delhi, which is reported to be on the block.

Sky Light Hospitality shows an advance received of Rs 50 crore from DLF as on March 31, 2010. During the course of the year April 1, 2009 to March 31, 2010, the company paid a total tax deducted source of Rs 4.95 lakh on the interest earned on its fixed deposits.TDS is cut at the rate of 10.3% when the interest earned on fixed deposits with a bank during the course of one year crosses Rs 10,000. What this tells us is that Sky Light Hospitality earned Rs 48.3 lakh (Rs 4.95 lakh/10.3%) as total interest. This interest obviously was earned out of investing a part of Rs 50 crore which the company received as an advance from DLF during the financial year 2009-2010 into bank fixed deposits.

Sky Light Hospitality also gave out advances and loans to other companies owned by Robert Vadra. As on March 31, 2010, Sky Light Hospitality had given a loan of Rs 6.61 crore to Sky Light Reality Private Ltd, another company owned by Vadra. This was used to fund seven flats in DLF’s Magnolias project and which are shown to be worth around Rs 5.23 crore. It was also used to buy a Rs 89 lakh apartment in DLF’s Aralias apartments.

The balance sheet as on March 31, 2009, shows an advance of Rs 3.5 crore to Sky Light Realty Private Ltd. This advance was used by Sky Light Realty to fund agricultural land in Palwal and land at Hayyatpur in Haryana. It also used around Rs 9 lakh to book flats with two builders. Sky Light Reality also earned an interest of around Rs 31 lakh by placing a part of this advance as a fixed deposit with banks.

Vadra’ Real Earth Estates had a total paid up capital of Rs 10 lakh as on March 31, 2010. DLF gave the company a loan of Rs 5 crore. This means the debt equity ratio of the company was 50 (Rs 5 crore/Rs10 lakh) which is humongous. This money was used to part-fund fixed assets worth around Rs 7.1 crore. This includes a plot in the posh GK-II area of Delhi and land in Bikaner, Gurgaon, Hassanpur and Mewat.

Whether DLF benefited with its relationship with Vadra we don’t really know. But Vadra clearly benefited from the same.

Vivek Kaul is a writer. He can be reached at vivek.kaul@gmail.com

URL of the article: http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_all-you-wanted-to-know-about-the-dlf-vadra-deal-part-2_1751281-all

Admin · Guru

Transfer of Panchayat land to realestate firms. 'Consolidation' is the name of the game. Whistle-blower IAS officer, Ashok Khemka.

It takes courage on the part of IAS officer Ashok Khemka to have blown the whistle. DLF - Robert Vadra real estate deals are a thin end of the wedge of landgrabs by PEPs (Politically Exposed Persons) looting the nation's wealth.

Such officers render a signal service at the feet of Bharat Mata.

Throw out the rotten eggs in politics. Singhasan khali karo, ke janataa aati hai.

Kalyanaraman

Senior IAS officer challenges Haryana govt’s land acquisition, release policy

CHITLEEN K SETHI

Posted: Thursday, Aug 02, 2012 at 0225 hrs IST

Chandigarh: Sees ‘vested interests’ behind his demotion

Challenging the Haryana government’s controversial land acquisition and land release policy, senior IAS officer Ashok Khemka — posted as special collector (HQ) and special land acquisition officer (LAO) — on Wednesday alleged that the policies have been converted into a “fine art” by certain mandarins, “depriving the poor farmers of their livelihood and wrongly enriching the political bureaucratic nexus”.

In a letter to the state Chief Secretary P K Chaudhry, Khemka said that he be relieved of his charges as land collector and LAO, as he will not be able to “play to the tunes” of such mandarins.

The Bhupinder Singh Hooda-led Haryana government has been at the receiving end of endless criticism for rampant corruption in the acquisition of land benefiting private players at the cost of farmers. Several benches of the Supreme Court and the Punjab and Haryana High Court have taken the government to task for its pick and choose policy in releasing acquired land.

A 1991 batch officer, Khemka has been a commissioner and secretary to the government since January, 2007. However, despite his seniority, he was virtually demoted several notches and transferred to a much lower rank, non-cadre post of special collector (HQ) and special land acquisition officer on July 18.

Khemka was unceremoniously shifted out as Hartron MD where he was posted for barely 50 days. According to sources, in Hartron, Khemka had objected to the Department of Electronics and Information Technology having employed consultants who were being paid crores as remuneration from out of public funds.

Khemka had questioned the consultants on the services they had rendered to the department since their appointment to justify their bloated incomes, added sources. The consultants reportedly went crying to their appointing authority, who was “instrumental” in getting Khemka out of the way.

Alleging victimisation, Khemka has in his letter to Chaudhry stated that he has been “shunted down” on a far lower rank than he is entitled to, as vested interests in the IT department were “bent to humiliate” him. Khemka, said sources, has demanded that the concerned officer responsible for the “humiliating transfer order against the lower rank, non-cadre post causing unnecessary embarrassment to the state government be suitably reprimanded and warned”. As the parting shot, Khemka has added that the chief secretary should also bring the “incompetent malfeasance” that led to his transfer orders to the notice of the chief minister.

Other than embarrassment to the state government, Khemka’s posting has also led to an administratively and legally anomalous situation. As special collector, one can appeal against Khemka’s decisions in surplus land cases under the Haryana ceiling on Land Holdings Act-1972 to the divisional commissioners, who are are all junior to Khemka by several years.

They belong to 1992, 1993 and 1994 batches — all promoted from the HCS. Sources said Khemka has written to the chief secretary pointing out this piquant situation as well.

http://www.financialexpress. com/news/senior-ias-officer- challenges-haryana-govt-s- land-acquisition-release- policy/982617/0

HC notice to 'whistleblower' IAS officer

TNN Sep 18, 2012, 05.26AM IST

CHANDIGARH: Punjab and Haryana high court has issued a notice to Haryana 'whistleblower' IAS officer Ashok Khemka, asking him why contempt of court proceedings should not be issued against him for misleading the court.

The issue pertains to Khemka filing an affidavit in the case of Kheri Kankar village panchayat of Mewat district as director general (DG), department of consolidation and holdings, Haryana.

In its petition, panchayat had sought directions to quash the transfer of 104 acres of village common land to some realtors and private parties.

In this case, the bench has found that he filed an affidavit in this case without perusing the judgments of the Supreme Court, which had held that a director consolidation has no jurisdiction to decide on whether a piece of land vests or does not vest in a gram panchayat

The division bench, comprising Justice Rajive Bhalla and Justice Rekha Mittal, observed, "We are prima facie satisfied that affidavit filed by Khemka is an attempt to subvert course of justice and to mislead the court.''

"We issue show-cause notice to Khemka as to why proceedings under contempt of court be not initiated against him," the bench held, fixing September 19 as next date of hearing.

Khemka had recently written to the Haryana government, alleging that his predecessors SC Goel and Anil Kumar (both IAS), had allotted the said land in favour of builders without any jurisdiction and in violation of the relevant statute.

While holding that "involvement of high ups cannot be ruled out," Khemka had requested the additional chief secretary to probe such transfers of land by an independent agency like CBI to probe the transfer of such land.

Explaining the reason for writing the letter, Khemka has said, "I was not able to reconcile myself to such gross abuse of authority.''

The letter pertained to the consolidation of prime land in some villages of Gurgaon district. Following his letter, the HC on September 6 had quashed transfer of land in favour of builders and realtors and the same was reinstated with the village panchayat.

http://articles.timesofindia. indiatimes.com/2012-09-18/ india/33924740_1_ashok-khemka- village-common-land-haryana- government

New Delhi: Amidst a furore over irregularities in land deals in Haryana, a senior IAS officer, Ashok Khemka, has written a tell-all letter to the state Chief Secretary detailing land scams in the state. The letter, accessed by CNN-IBN, demands that security be provided to the officer and his family to protect them from the people hit by the expose.

In the letter, Khemka says that several hundred crores worth of plots of Panchayat land were transferred to real estate firms. The letter explains how prime plots near highways were sold off under the garb of consolidation. The panchayat lands were deliberately under-valued, the letter adds.

The revelations by Khemka come amidst continuing furore over a land deal between realty giant DLF and Congress President Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law Robert Vadra, exposed by activist-turned-politician Arvind Kejriwal.

Haryana | Updated Oct 13, 2012 at 01:39pm IST

Haryana IAS officer blows lid off land scams in tell-all letter to Chief Secretary

Asking the Chief Secretary to look into land deals in specific areas across Haryana, Khemka urges him to put an end to frequent transfers of honest officers. Khemka mentions that he was transferred after he exposed several land scams. He asks the state government not to humiliate a sincere officer.

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/ haryana-ias-officer-blows-lid- off-land-scams-in-tellall- letter-to-chief-secretary/ 300257-3-240.html

Admin · Guru

OCT

13

DLF did Rs 446 crore deals with Robert Vadra in 50:50 hotel venture, Rs 132 crs o/s ECO TIMES

These dealings raise further questions about the depth of the business relationship between DLF and entities owned by Robert Vadra.One more report on the deep bonds of friendship between Vadra and DLF.

DLF did 3 business deals with Vadra for Rs 446 crs, between 2009-10 and 2011-12. Per DLF Annual Report for March 12 ‘it was yet to receive Rs 132 crore of the total Rs 311-crore proceeds from the two sale transactions.’. Also how has Vadra funded the amounts paid by him. Sums are large.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/real-estate/news/dlf-did-rs-446-crore-deals-with-robert-vadra-in-5050-hotel-venture/articleshow/16789963.cms

DLF did Rs 446 crore deals with Robert Vadra in 50:50 hotel venture

NEW DELHI: DLF Ltd, India's largest real estate company, has carried out three transactions worth Rs 446 crore with its hotel joint venture since giving Robert Vadra a 50% stake in it for Rs 35 crore in October 2009, an ET investigation has uncovered.

These dealings, many experts say, raise further questions about the depth of the business relationship between DLF, a listed company, and entities owned by the son-in-law of Congress President Sonia Gandhi.

These transactions find no mention in the documents released in the past week by activist-turned-politician Arvind Kejriwal on the business dealings between DLF and Vadra, which have ignited a political and media firestorm.

According to DLF annual reports, the first of these three transactions took place in 2009-10, when it sold assets for Rs 150 crore to the 50:50 hotel JV, Saket Courtyard Hospitality. The hotel JV is yet to pay DLF for this transaction.

In an emailed response, DLF says this transaction related to the transfer of ownership rights of the Hilton Garden Inn in Delhi, the JV's sole hotel property. "The valuation was done by independent chartered engineers and government-approved valuers," it says.

Next, in 2011-12, DLF sold development rights - essentially, the rights, with regulatory clearances, to build on a plot of land - for Rs 161 crore to Prowess Buildcon Pvt Ltd, a 100% subsidiary of the hotel JV.

Also Read: Robert Vadra ties up with DLF, makes low-key entry into Real estate business

DLF says this related to the development of an "affordable housing project" spread over 44 acres in Haryana. The project, DLF says, was cancelled because it was financially unviable due to escalating cost of construction and lack of government incentives.

As a result of these problems, DLF decided to covert this venture into plotted or group housing projects. "These projects are underway and would take another three to four years to complete," the company statement says.

DLF did Rs 446 crore deals with Robert Vadra in 50:50 hotel venture

The third transaction, in the same year, is a Rs 135-crore loan shown in the 2011-12 annual report of DLF.

Explaining this transaction, the company says "no further loan" has been extended. Instead, it adds, the amount outstanding for the hotel transfer - the first transaction - has been converted into a loan.

"The outstanding amount of DLF Limited was intended to be paid back to DLF by obtaining a loan from a bank/financial institution, which could not materialise due to partnership structure and change in lending regulations," the company says. "DLF continues to charge interest at 12% per annum, compounded quarterly."

The latest annual report of DLF also shows that, as of March 31, 2012, it was yet to receive Rs 132 crore of the total Rs 311-crore proceeds from the two sale transactions.

http://www.firstpost.com/politics/gandhi-dlf-link-it-all-started-with-rajiv-not-robert-vadra-487786.html

Admin · Guru

http://www.firstpost.com/politics/gandhi-dlf-link-it-all-started-with-rajiv-not-robert-vadra-487786.html

Gandhi-DLF link: It all started with Rajiv, not Robert Vadra

by Raman Kirpal Oct 11, 2012

The owners of DLF have strong ties with the Gandhi family that go as far back as 30 years, when Robert Vadra was nowhere in picture. Gandhi-DLF link: It all started with Rajiv, not Robert Vadra

Gandhi-DLF link: It all started with Rajiv, not Robert Vadra

Rajiv Gandhi addressing a rally. AFP.

In fact, DLF owner K P Singh gives Rajiv Gandhi all the credit for reviving DLF and enabling him to create Gurgaon as an international city.

All this finds ample acknowledgement in his autobiography Whatever the Odds: The Incredible Story Behind DLF.

First published in 2011, K P Singh describes how Rajiv Gandhi saved him from inevitable arrest and from his staunch enemy Bansi Lal. Rajiv Gandhi helped change archaic laws and provided the first-ever license to a private realty company (DLF). And the partnership didn’t stop.

“I was equally privileged to be a facilitator for numerous other business deals at a time when the Indian economy, under Rajiv Gandhi, was just starting to liberalize and open up to the world. It was like having a front-row seat to an extraordinary event,’’ writes K P Singh. He also writes of how he helped to bring GE as the first BPO Company in the country and his role in helping Rajiv Gandhi while drafting the Congress manifesto on urban development in 1991.

Against this backdrop, the allegations of DLF favouring Robert Vadra become even more interesting.

Rajiv Gandhi. Getty Images.

During the summer of 1980, K P Singh recounts, it was a chance encounter with Rajiv Gandhi in a deserted part of rural Haryana near Qutub Minar, when K P Singh had eyed an area of around 40 acres to set up what is now Gurgaon city.

He was chatting with a villager when a speeding jeep screeched to a halt nearby. Rajiv Gandhi, who was driving the jeep, emerged from the vehicle and asked if he could get a can of water as his engine was overheating. Rajiv Gandhi had just given up his pilot job with the Indian Airlines and had taken his ‘first hesitant steps’ into politics after the death of his brother Sanjay Gandhi.

Rajiv Gandhi, who often used to take this route to visit his Meharauli farmhouse, asked Singh what he was doing in such a desolate place at the height of summer. Then Singh told him all about his vision of Gurgaon as the international city and how the government laws are not helping him to create this city and not providing private developers a level playing field.

K P Singh writes: “He (Rajiv Gandhi) became interested and pressed me on the issue. What is holding it up and why don’t you do it, Rajiv asked.’’

“At that time, DLF had no money or business worth talking about. Banks were forbidden to give loans to purchase land. There was no such thing as housing loans. The only capital that DLF had was my optimism and determination to revive the company and make it a real estate giant. Rajiv sensed that… In fact, it was this one incident that was to transform Gurgaon from a rural wilderness into an international city,’’ Singh says in his book.

Rajiv Gandhi and Singh sat there for an hour and half, “in the middle of nowhere, engaged in detailed discussions about the idea of creating an integrated, world-class township in Gurgaon”.

Rajiv Gandhi then asked Singh to make a presentation on Gurgaon before Arun Singh and him at his Delhi office. A string of meetings followed. The final consensus was that Gurgaon should become a model city through substantial private sector development. At the same time, it was decided, that while licences will be granted to the developers, they would have to make sure that the weaker sections of the society benefited from the project.

The policy was changed and the first licence to DLF was issued in April 1981 to develop 39.34 acres.

Later in 1984, Rajiv Gandhi had also rescued K P Singh from arrest. “In February 1983, DLF had secured licences to develop a total of 556 acres. Evidently, the progress that DLF was making was not to Bansi Lal’s liking and he got some serving bureaucrats loyal to him to issue a notification by the state government to acquire land around the areas that DLF was developing. The idea was to prevent us from acquiring contiguous land,’’ Singh recollects in the book.

Singh then met many bureaucrats and politicians. He told them that the entire background, including the fact that the Gurgaon Township projects had the approval of Rajiv Gandhi. In his presentation to the Haryana government, Singh wrote that the action of the chief minister (Bansi Lal) in cancelling DLF’s licences was akin to a rampaging bull in a china shop.

Singh writes: “Bansi Lal got even more furious. I was told later that he had ordered his officials to demonstrate just what kind of a bull he was!’’

Again, Singh went to Rajiv Gandhi, who was now the Prime Minister.

“When I met him and related my problems, he was surprised to hear about Bansi Lal’s war against me and DLF and the reason for it. I also told him how badly and unfairly it had harmed DLF… I later came to know that immediately after the meeting, Rajiv asked his principal secretary Sarla Grewal to ensure that the orders of the Haryana government were reversed and that the urbanization of Gurgaon continued without any hindrance. I felt that at long last, my troubles were coming to an end. My hopes were soon belied. Grewal spoke to Bansi Lal but to no avail. He was known to be stubborn. In fact, the commissioner for town and urban planning expressed his inability to ease the pressure on DLF. When Rajiv went to Haryana to inaugurate a facility, he met Bansi Lal and told him that since I was trying to build a world-class city in Gurgaon I should be encouraged and not hindered. But, Bansi Lal remained inflexible and continued to target DLF. Some days later, I got a call from Gopi Arora, special secretary to Rajiv Gandhi, asking me to meet him urgently. Gopi was a high-profile bureaucrat who wielded considerable power in the Prime Minister’s Office. He didn’t beat around the bush.

“He simply said, ‘I have a message for you from the prime minister. First you must immediately legally protect yourself and your company as Bansi Lal is bent on arresting you.’

“He then reassured me that the issue would be sorted out soon. I sought his advice as to what I should do to protest myself. Go into hiding for some time, was his response.’’

Singh stopped going to the office and he went into hiding.

In Chapter 11 (DLF Growth and Transition) of his book, Singh recounts that sometime in early April 1991, his security guard woke him up around midnight saying that a call had come from Rajiv Gandhi’s residence. He thought it was a prank call, but later he confirmed that Rajiv Gandhi wanted to see him at his residence immediately.

“Jumping out of bed, I drove down to meet him in the wee hours of the morning wondering about the reason for the call. Rajiv did not look the least bit tired though he had been working through the night. He was munching on a bar of chocolate. He said that he had written two paragraphs on urban development in the Congress manifesto, which was to go to press soon. He wanted me to read it and see if it was in the interest of urban growth and was correct and balanced,’’ Singh writes.

Singh read the paragraphs on the urban development, which emphasised among other things the development of satellite towns to reduce pressures on large cities.

“Not wanting to disturb Rajiv, who was busy finalizing the manifesto, I left saying what he had written was fine. The Congress Working Committee cleared the manifesto on 6 April 1991. ”

Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated on 21 May 1991. K P Singh writes: “It was a day I will never forget. The country lost a visionary leader and I lost someone who was instrumental in helping me realise a dream and also made me what I am today. Gurgaon would never have happened had it not been for Rajiv.’’

Singh concludes: “Yet, Gurgaon’s development and Rajiv Gandhi’s role in it show what politicians with no ideological baggage and modern minds can envision and achieve. Being young, Rajiv was passionate about doing something new. He brought a new hope to people who were disillusioned with the direction of politics in India. I have pleasant memories of meeting him numerous times when he was the prime minister between 31 October 1984 and 2 December 1989. India’s urban development story took off only because of Rajiv Gandhi’s vision. DLF is what it is today because of the change in the government perspective towards housing and urban development that he brought in.”

Whatever the Odds: The Incredible Story Behind DLF jointly written by DLF owner KP Singh and journalists Ramesh Menon and Ramesh Swamy, recounts the story of DLF from its inception to its development into a real estate giant.

Admin · Guru

Public sector bank probing overdraft that helped Vadra buy land

RENUKA PHADNIS

PTIA file photo of Robert Vadra, Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s son-in-law.

Rs. 7.94 crore was extended to Sky Light Hospitality

Finance Minister P. Chidambaram may have described the controversial business dealings of Sonia Gandhi’s son-in-law as transactions involving “private individuals” but the disclosure that the public sector Corporation Bank had extended an overdraft of Rs 7.94 crore in 2007-2008 to Robert Vadra’s Sky Light Hospitality when his company had total resources of only one lakh rupees has left officials at the Mangalore-based lender scrambling to understand the circumstances in which the transaction took place and whether it conformed to normal lending guidelines.

Asked what amount Corporation Bank would normally extend as overdraft to a borrower with a company whose issued capital was Rs.1 lakh, Ajai Kumar, Chairman and Managing Director, Corporation Bank, told The Hindu, “It is not a question I can answer until I get the full facts. You should understand. You have to take the full picture.” He cited client confidentiality for not sharing the information, even if he were to get it, on Mr. Vadra's business with the bank. However, he added that he could get the full facts from the branch in Delhi “may be by tomorrow” [Thursday].

Details of the overdraft were reported in Business Standard on Wednesday, which noted that the money—which was used towards the first instalment on a Rs 15.38 crore parcel of land in Manesar, Haryana—was returned to the bank by Mr. Vadra a year later. The land itself was sold by Mr. Vadra to DLF for Rs 58 crore.

It is not clear from Sky Light’s balance sheets what collateral, if any, was put up for the overdraft.

B.K. Divakara, General Manager (Credit), Corporation Bank, told The Hindu: “As of date, we have no liability from that person. It [the overdraft given by the Bank] was two to three years ago. No one is aware who was there that time (sic). We have to take up the details.”

About norms followed by the Bank for extending overdrafts, he said: “There is no such fixed upper limit. It depends on the merits of each case. It cannot be generalised.”

A highly-placed source within the bank told The Hindu that Corporation Bank extends overdrafts to customers based on their “business projects, net worth and past record.” Commenting on the size of the overdraft, one official said that in this particular case, “on the face of it, he [Vadra] can’t be given [an overdraft of that amount]. If [he] has, they [the Bank officials] have to see why he has been given [it].” “Unless he is very regular and well meaning, it is a risk,” he added.

A general manager of another public sector bank said that he could not give a “yes” or “no” reply to whether this specific overdraft could be justified. However, he noted that given the capital of the company, the overdraft amount “definitely” appeared disproportionate.

In August 2011, the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) had issued a memo to the Department of Financial Services of Corporation Bank seeking an explanation from its former CMD, Ramnath Pradeep, on “noticed lapses” in giving unsecured loans. The CVC, in the memo, had directed the DFS to take “immediate action” to stop the CMD from continuing “the abuse of authority”.

Top executives of the Bank at that time took out a signature campaign to gather support for a memorandum appealing to former Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee to “save” the bank.

The CMD when Mr. Vadra got his overdraft was not Mr. Pradeep but B. Sambamurthy, currently director of the Institute for Development and Research in Banking Technology, Hyderabad. Mr. Sambamurthy told The Hindu he had no recollection of the overdraft.

Admin · Guru

‘Why land given to firm linked to Vadra?’

GARGI PARSAI

Anti-corruption activist Arvind Kejriwal. File photo: Sushil Kumar Verma

Haryana government must explain why it allowed change of land use

Maintaining his position on the alleged “mala fide nexus” between the Haryana government and realty major DLF, India Against Corruption (IAC) member Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday refused to accept the State’s contention that there was no wrong-doing, saying questions remained on why land was given to a company linked to Robert Vadra.

Change of land-use

Mr. Kejriwal said the Haryana government’s statement accepted that 30 acres of land acquired for residential purpose was given to East India Hotels Limited for building a hospital in 1995 and that the company did not do so till 2005. But no action was taken against it nor was the land taken back.

On the other hand, the government allowed it to sell the land to DLF even when there was a clear change of land-use to setting up a SEZ in which Robert Vadra’s company bought stakes.

“Why did the Haryana government allow change of land-use from a hospital to DLF SEZ in which Mr. Vadra’s company acquires a 50 per cent stake, which he sells back after a year, raising suspicion about the motive behind the sale of this piece of land?”

Rebutting the allegations, Haryana on Tuesday said the land was released to East India Hotels Ltd. more than 16 years ago and permission was granted to sell the land to DLF “after following the due process of law.” The matter, it said, was sub judice.

On increasing the floor area ratio for DLF project, the Haryana government said the density in the two master plans of Gurgaon-Manesar complex was the same and it was only the unit that changes i.e. persons per acre in plan 2025 and persons per hectare in plan 2031.

Attempt to divert from main issue

Refuting this, Mr. Kejriwal said in a statement that the IAC had gone through both the plans and their respective notifications. “Nowhere do they mention the unit of ‘person per acre.’ In both the plans, the density was mentioned in persons per hectare. Once again the government had made an attempt to divert from the main issue.”

“The point in focus is that the special pocket carved out in Gurgaon, which is allowed to have a density of 2.5 times more than the average, has its boundary same as the boundary of DLF Phase V. Incidentally, the same phase has the DLF projects of Magnolia and Aralias, where Robert Vadra has many property in his companies’ name.”

“Is it then not very clear that the increased density in Gurgaon Master Plan is one of the quid pro quo for DLF, which has been selling property at throwaway prices to Vadra in the same area?” he alleged.

Interest-free loans

The IAC has alleged that DLF gave Mr. Vadra interest-free loans and under-priced apartments in Gurgaon.

In turn, IAC said, the Haryana government violated norms to grant land to DLF for massive commercial projects.

Mr. Vadra, DLF and the State government have refuted the accusations.

Admin · Guru

Senior official probing Vadra-DLF land deal shunted out

NATIONAL BUREAU

According to <i>The Hindu</i>, a top official in the Haryana government’s land registration department was transferred hours after he initiated a probe into all the land dealings of Robert Vadra. File photo

According to The Hindu, a top official in the Haryana government’s land registration department was transferred hours after he initiated a probe into all the land dealings of Robert Vadra. File photo

Exclusive Hours after Haryana’s top land records officer starts probe into Vadra’s dealings, he is transferred

A top official in the Haryana government’s land registration department was transferred hours after he initiated a probe into all the land dealings of Robert Vadra, son-in-law of Congress president Sonia Gandhi, in four districts of the State neighbouring Delhi, The Hindu can disclose.

The transfer order came on October 11, 2012 — even as the country was still digesting the allegations made by India Against Corruption of a nexus between Mr. Vadra and real estate giant DLF — and strongly suggests that the dealings between the two were not just “transactions between private individuals” but may have involved the cooperation and even collusion of politicians and bureaucrats. Haryana has been ruled by Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda of the Congress since 2004.

The transferred officer, Ashok Khemka, has protested his eviction from the post of Haryana’s Director-General of Land Consolidation and Land Records-cum-Inspector-General of Registration in writing, alleging mala fide. Though he had no option but to accept the marching orders, Mr. Khemka issued an order on his last day in office on October 15 cancelling the mutation of a 3.531-acre plot of land in Manesar-Shikohpur that Mr. Vadra had sold to DLF for Rs. 58 crore.

Three days earlier, pursuant to the probe he had already initiated, Mr. Khemka issued a letter formally ordering an inquiry across four districts into the “alleged under-valuation of some properties registered by Shri Robert Vadra or his companies as vendor or vendee.” His letter took note of IAC’s allegations and reports in the media.

Based on the preliminary details uncovered by the inquiry in the case of at least one of those properties, Mr. Khemka cancelled the mutation of the 3.531- acre plot that Mr. Vadra’s company, M/s Sky Light Hospitality, had sold to DLF Universal Ltd on September 18, 2012. He did so on the grounds that the mutation violated the States Consolidation Act and was done not by a revenue officer but by the Assistant Consolidation Officer of Gurgaon who was not authorised to do so. (EA4/2012/4620-4621 dated 15 October, 2012)

The inquiry also points out that the action of the sub-registrar, Manesar, in registering the property was “not proper” because the estate of Shikohpur was notified for consolidation in August 2011 and as such transfer/sale of property during the pendency of consolidation proceedings without the sanction of the Consolidation Officer is prohibited. He also found that the permission given to Mr. Vadra on April 3, 2012 by Haryana’s Town and Country Planning Department to sell the property violated the same provision of the Consolidation Act.

A careful perusal of the timeline of the purchase and sale of this property also raises questions about the exact nature of the deal Mr. Vadra had struck with DLF. The sale deed of this land shows that it was bought by Sky Light Hospitality for Rs. 7.5 crore on February 12, 2008, and mutated in its favour the very next day. A little more than a month later, on March 28, 2008, the Town and Country Planning Department issued Mr. Vadra’s company a licence to develop 2.701 acres of the land into a housing colony. This licence was subsequently renewed on January 18, 2011, according to the enquiry report accessed by The Hindu.

But though the sale deed of this land for Rs. 58 crore to DLF was registered on September 18, 2012, the enquiry found that Mr. Vadra had “entered into an agreement to sell within 65 days of the issue of the first licence.” By October 2009, he had received Rs. 50 crore out of the total sale consideration, the first instalment of which was made on June 3, 2008. Mr. Khemka, in his order, points out: “It is not clear what made the Town and Country Planning Department renew the licence in 2011 in favour of Sky Light Ltd when 86.2 per cent of the total sale money had been paid 15 months before.”

“If M/s Sky Light Ltd suppressed the fact that [it] had entered into a sale agreement of the property with DLF before the renewal of the licence then the department ought to be taking action [against] the former for suppressing facts.” But if Mr. Vadra had indeed informed the department about his entering into an agreement to sell the land to DLF on June 3, 2008 (when the first instalment was paid) “it is unfathomable how the department could renew the licence in 2011” in his favour, “when he had ex-facie entered into agreement to sell within 65 days of the issue of the first licence,” Mr. Khemka’s report goes on to say.

Haryana officials familiar with the deal say that the sequence of transactions — in which the land’s value went up from Rs. 7.5 crore to Rs. 58 crore in just 65 days because of the licence given to it — raises questions about whether DLF had entered into business with Mr. Vadra in order to get clearances for land that may not have been forthcoming through regular methods.

In his October 12 letter, Mr. Khemka, undeterred by his transfer, ordered the deputy commissioners of the districts of Gurgaon, Faridabad, Palwal and Mewat to inspect all documents from 2005 to date, registered by Mr. Vadra or his companies, either as buyer or seller, to check whether any property has been undervalued for the purpose of evading payment of stamp duty.

Mr. Khemka’s transfer comes after he has spent less than three months in his assignment as Inspector-General of Registration where, besides probing the Vadra deals, he has uncovered massive fraud in the transfer of panchayat lands to realtor companies and some powerful bureaucrats and politicians.

In an angry letter to the Haryana Chief Secretary protesting his transfer, Mr. Khemka has requested him to “see for himself the cases of villages Baad Gujar, Rozka Gujar, Kot, Shikohpur, Kalesar, Anhir, Malikpur, Bangar and Chirsi. It is grossly unfair to punish me for being upright and exposing the scams and corrupt acts instead of taking action against the guilty.” “It seems that this is deliberate and mala fide to punish me due to some vested elements in the political bureaucratic hierarchy affected by the exposure of the scam in Consolidation under the garb of exercise of powers. Several hundred crores worth of panchayat lands were transferred to realtor companies which were created a few days earlier… Panchayats also lost huge lands in consolidation by way of deliberate undervaluation,” the letter states. He ends by saying: “I am threatened that I would be subject to transfer every month so as to humiliate me and demoralize me.”

Mr. Khemka has been transferred to the Haryana Seeds Development Corporation on a post that was held by an officer 12 years his junior. He left charge on Monday, but not before issuing orders cancelling the mutation in favour of DLF and putting on record the irregularities that he has detected in the Manesar-Shikohpur land deal.

Haryana officers say that the discretionary Change in Land Use permission is exercised almost like the old industrial licensing regime and is the “mother source of all land scams. CLU permission granted on agricultural land escalates its value manifold, resulting in a premium for a nexus of realtors, politicians and bureaucrats.”

With Mr. Khemka out of the way, it is not clear if the leads he had developed or the inquiry he has ordered would be followed by the Haryana authorities. On October 12, he formally ordered four Deputy Commissioners-cum-registrars to “estimate the real value” of Mr. Vadra’s direct and indirect property holdings “and in case of under-valuations the matter should be referred to the Collector under Section 47-A of the Indian Stamps Act for correct assessment of the stamp duty payable. The names of the companies of Shri Robert Vadra as reported in The Hindu dated October 8, 2012 include Sky Light Realty, Sky Light Hospitality, Real Earth Estates, Blue Breeze Trading, Artex and Northern India IT Parks.”

Mr. Khemka had asked that the report “must reach this office by October 25, 2012.”

Admin · Guru

Respond to probe plea against Vadra, court tells Centre

OMAR RASHID

‘How could a firm grow to Rs. 500 crore worth with an investment of Rs. 5 lakh?’

The Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court on Thursday granted the Union government three weeks to respond to a writ petition filed by social activist Nutan Thakur, seeking a directive to order a probe into corruption charges against Robert Vadra and real estate major DLF.

A Division Bench of Justices Uma Nath Singh and Virendra Kumar Dixit heard Dr. Thakur’s petition and asked the Centre to explain why the allegations against Mr. Vadra should not be investigated.

India Against Corruption members Kejriwal and Prashant Bhushan have alleged that Mr. Vadra had been hugely favoured by DLF and he had bought property worth crores of rupees between 2007 and 2010 with an unsecured interest-free loan of Rs. 65 crore given by DLF.

Mr. Vadra and DLF, however, have denied the allegations.

Unanswered questions

Dr. Thakur, who runs an NGO in Uttar Pradesh, said in her petition that despite their denials, some basic questions remained unanswered.

How could a company grow to Rs. 500-crore worth with a mere initial investment of Rs. 5 lakh, the petition said.

Dr. Thakur told The Hindu that while allegations were being levelled against Mr. Vadra and DLF, no inquiry had been ordered. She said that in her petition she had questioned the involvement of Ministers in the case, who had rubbished these allegations even without conducting a proper independent enquiry.

“The common man wants to know the truth behind these allegations. The common man is brought under enquiries, so why should the high-profile not face independent enquiries into corruption allegations?”

“Release details”

The petition also requested the government to officially release the facts related to the case and said that since Mr. Vadra was the son-in-law of the president of the ruling party, it was the government’s duty to explain itself.

Additional Solicitor-General Ashok Nigam opposed the petition, saying it was based on hearsay and was not maintainable.

The next hearing is scheduled for November 21.

Admin · Guru

DLF clarifications 'half truths and lies': Kejriwal

PTI

IAC member Arvind Kejriwal. File photo

Activist Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday described the clarifications of realty major DLF on his allegations that Robert Vadra was given property at throw away prices for government favours as ‘half truths and lies’.

“DLF has issued a response. It is full of half truths and lies. A lot of information has been suppressed,” he tweeted.

“We will issue a detailed response tomorrow. But does Vadra stand by DLF response or does he have another version. Would appreciate his version,” Mr. Kejriwal said.

DLF has rejected the allegations that it had given unsecured loans to Mr. Vadra, son-in-law of Congress president Sonia Gandhi, as a ‘quid pro quo’ for favours and said it had transparent dealing with him as an individual entrepreneur.

In a statement on Saturday, the company had said it had given Rs. 65 crore as “business advances” out of which Rs. 15 crore was fully refunded and Rs. 50 crore was used for purchase of land.

Rejecting the allegations made by Mr. Kejriwal and Prashant Bhushan that the company favoured Mr. Vadra, DLF had said it neither received any undue benefit from any state governments nor was it allotted any land by Delhi, Haryana and Rajasthan governments.

Admin · Guru

IAC and DLF: point-counterpoint on Vadra’s deals

DLF’s ‘Aralias’ projec

t

Why should DLF give unsecured interest free loans to Robert Vadra?

DLF’s reply:

We wish to categorically state that the DLF has given NO unsecured loans to Mr. Vadra or any of his companies.

An amount of Rs.65 crore was given as business advances for the purchase of land as per standard industry practice comprising the following two transactions.

M/s Skylight Hospitality Pvt. Ltd. approached us in FY 2008-09 to sell a piece of land measuring approximately 3.5 acres approximately just off NH 8 in Sikohpur village, district Gurgaon. This was licensable to develop a commercial complex and the LoI from the government of Haryana to develop it for a commercial complex had been received in March 2008 itself.

DLF agreed to buy the said plot, given its licensing status and its attractiveness as a business proposition for a total consideration of Rs.58 crore. As per normal commercial practice, the possession of the said plot was taken over by DLF in FY 2008-09 itself and a total sum of Rs.50 crore given as advance in instalments against the Purchase consideration. After receipt of all requisite approvals, the said property was conveyanced in favour of DLF. The average cost of the licensed property in the hands of DLF works out to approx Rs.2,800 psf of FSI, which was comparable with similar transactions in that area. The price of the said property has significantly appreciated today to the benefit of DLF and its shareholders.

M/s Skylight Group of companies also offered us in FY 2008-09 an opportunity to purchase a large land parcel in Faridabad and accordingly, DLF agreed to advance Rs.15 crore in instalments simultaneous to the commencement of due diligence of the said land parcel. After concluding that the said land had certain legal infirmities, we decided against its purchase. Accordingly on DLF’s request, the Skylight group refunded the advance of Rs.15 crore in totality.

To reiterate, at no stage was an interest free loan ever given to the Skylight group. There were two sets of Business Advances against purchase of property, one of which amounting to Rs.50 crore resulted in a satisfactory conclusion of purchase of commercial land and the second advance of Rs.15 crore was fully refunded.

IAC’s rebuttal

DLF has said that no unsecured loans were ever given. This is far from the truth for the following reasons:

a. If one looks at the 2009-10 balance sheet of Real Earth Estates Pvt. Ltd. (Robert Vadra (RV) group company), there is an entry called “Loan from DLF Ltd – Rs.5 crores”. This has been declared as an unsecured loan in the return filed by them in Registrar of Companies.

b. In the same year, Rs.50 crore has been given by DLF to Sky Light Hospitality Private Ltd (SLH), which is another RV group company. According to DLF, SLH sold its land at Manesar for Rs.58 crore to DLF and Rs.50 crore was an advance paid to SLH. Interestingly, this Manesar land was acquired by SLH just a year back for Rs.15.38 crore. How did the price of this land soar to Rs.58 crore? DLF claims that DLF made an advance payment of Rs.50 crore and took possession of this land in 2008-09 itself. This is completely incorrect. The balance sheet for the year ending March 31, 2011 shows that the advance made by DLF as well as the land at Manesar are both still in the possession of SLH. Is it a normal business practice to give an advance of 90 per cent of the amount of transaction and let it remain with the seller for more than two years without even bothering to take possession of land? Is it a normal business practice to let this advance remain interest free? DLF itself borrows money from several sources at quite high cost. Interestingly, SLH used this advance to purchase 50 per cent equity in DLF’s own hotel.

c. SLH received another Rs.10 crore from DLF as “Advance from DLF Ltd (Land account)”. This is also interest free. This money was received by SLH in 2008-09 and remained with them for more than 2 years.

d. DLF advanced another loan of Rs.15 crore in 2008-09 to SLH. DLF claims that this was meant as an advance for some property in Faridabad in which, some legal problems were discovered later. After using that money for about a year, SLH returned it to DLF. DLF did not charge any interest on that. Does that appear to be a normal business practice?

e. What is the difference between the unsecured loans received by Kanimozhi and Robert Vadra?

Why should DLF sell its properties to Vadra at throwaway prices and on the basis of funds obtained by Vadra from DLF itself?

DLF’s reply: ARALIAS

Mr. Vadra purchased one apartment for his personal use in Aralias in September 2008 at the then prevalent market price of Rs.12,000 psft. The total purchase consideration of Rs.11.90 crore was paid by Mr. Vadra, for which the apartment was conveyanced in his favour. We may also mention that while Aralias was initially launched at Rs.1,800 psft, Mr. Vadra’s purchase at Rs.12,000 psft is among the highest prices at which the company sold the apartments in Aralias. The alleged figure of Rs.89 lakh as total purchase consideration is completely incorrect.

IAC’s rebuttal

In the balance sheet of Sky Light realty (SLR) Pvt. Ltd. for the year 2009-10, the Aralias flat is shown to have been purchased for Rs.89.41 lakh. However, in the next year’s balance sheet, there is an increase of Rs.8.57 crore in the property at Aralias. Why did that happen? For how much was this property purchased and when was it purchased? A story appeared in the Economic Times in March 2011 raising questions about Mr. Robert Vadra’s properties. Was this amount increased immediately thereafter? DLF in its response has said that the flat was purchased by the Vadras in 2008 for their personal use and it was transferred to them in the same year. Then how is it that the value of the flat is shown at Rs.89.41 lakh in 2009-10 and suddenly it becomes Rs.10.4 crore (including furniture) in 2010-11.

DLF’s reply: MAGNOLIAS

As part of its real estate business, Skylight group had invested in Magnolias apartments at a price of Rs.10,000 psft in March 2008, which was the prevalent offer price of the company for all its customers. The initial launch price was only Rs.4,500 only at which price a large number of customers made their purchases from the company. The Skylight Group also booked some apartments in the company’s Capital Greens project at the then Company’s offer price of Rs.5,000/6,000 psft which was availed by more than a thousand other customers.

There is no question of offering, let alone selling, Mr. Vadra or his group companies any property at a throwaway price. The allegation that 7 apartments in Magnolias were sold for Rs.5.2 crore only is also completely baseless.

At NO stage was a property ever sold to the Skylight group below the then offered price to all customers. The gains, if any, made by Skylight group, by subsequent retrading would be similar to the gains made by those customers and in line with applicable market price appreciation experienced by all DLF customers in general.

IAC’s rebuttal DLF has said that the Magnolias flats were sold at Rs.10,000 psf to Sky Light Group. At that rate, the cost of each Magnolia flat comes to Rs.5 crore. But in the balance sheet for the year 2009-10 for SLR Pvt. Ltd., it is clearly mentioned in Current assets — “DLF Ltd 7 flats Magnolias – Rs.5.232 crore”. Did Vadra file a wrong balance sheet with the Registrar of Companies?

It is well known that DLF has been given 350 acres of land by Haryana Government for the development of Magnolias project in Gurgaon (where Vadra was allocated 7 apartments). Is that the quid pro quo for DLF giving Vadra the seed money for the purchase of these properties?

DLF’s reply:

An attempt is being made to confuse the Magnolias project with an independent project of 350 acres which was tendered by the Haryana State Industrial and Imports Development Corporation (HSIIDC) for a “Recreation and Leisure project” by a series of well advertised international tender processes in 2009. DLF emerged as the successful bidder after a thorough technical and commercial bidding process carried out in a highly transparent manner. The project is still at a nascent stage.

It may be clarified that DLF secured the project on its own merits by fulfilling the eligibility criteria through a competitive bidding process and NOT through a discretionary allotment by the Haryana government as alleged. We further state that DLF has not been allotted any lands by the State governments of Haryana, Rajasthan or Delhi.

IAC’s rebuttal

Some of the favours given by the Haryana government in this project:

1. International bids were invited for this project. Three parties applied — DLF, Country Heights and Unitech. Financial bids of Unitech and Country Heights were not even opened. They were rejected at the technical stage saying that they did not have experience in constructing and maintaining a golf course. This condition was introduced at the time of evaluating technical bids. Doesn’t it raise suspicion whether this was done to reject other parties and to grant this contract to DLF? From news reports, it is understood that the other two bids were much more than DLF’s bid. This means that the government suffered a loss by giving it to DLF.

2. Out of 350 acres, 75.98 acres of land was owned by the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) and 275 acres of land belonged to HSIIDC. HSIIDC’s mandate is to encourage industry in Haryana. It normally uses the land in its possession to carve out land plots for industrial use. HUDA uses its land for residential purposes. However, in this case, they were expected to simply transfer their land to DLF.

3. Out of 275 acres of land with HSIIDC, 91.97 acres of land is forest land covered under the Punjab Land Preservation Act (PLPA). SC has ordered that lands covered under PLPA should be treated as forest land and cannot be used for non-forest purposes. 161.03 acres of land is under Aravali plantation. This also cannot be used for any other purpose. The Haryana government has assumed the responsibility of seeking permissions from all Central and State government authorities to facilitate it for DLF. Interestingly, the Haryana government has given all this land to DLF without even getting these permissions.

4. No Environmental Impact Assessment was done. The process is believed to have been started but was cancelled midway.

5. As mentioned above, HUDA had to part with 75.98 acres of land for this project. HUDA’s job is to develop residential and commercial plots for the common people. They have done so in the past by developing various sectors in Gurgaon. HUDA had acquired this land a few years ago from the farmers of Gurgaon saying that this land would be used for “Public purpose” for various sectors in Gurgaon, constructing roads, etc. However, now this land was being transferred to DLF, not for “public purpose” but for private profit. This was a fraud on those farmers who had sacrificed their land earlier.

Source: Press Releases from India Against Corruption and DLF

Admin · Guru

Memo confirms Khemka asked for Vadra files before transfer

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

The Hindu

Senior IAS officer and former Haryana Director General Land Consolidation Ashok Khemka. File photo

Fresh documents with The Hindu show clear and undeniable links between the sudden transfer of senior IAS official Ashok Khemka and his initiation of a probe specifically related to Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s son-in-law Robert Vadra and his companies, contrary to the Haryana government attempts to establish that the two events were unrelated.

The documents belie the claims made by the Haryana government that Mr. Khemka acted on the Vadra-DLF deals only after his transfer orders were served. Indeed, Congress spokespersons have alleged that he began his inquiry only on October 12 — the date he issued formal orders to this effect — which was one day after he was served his marching orders from the post of Inspector-General of Registration and Director-General Land Consolidation.

However, the internal documents confirm that Mr. Khemka’s first meeting on subject, which led eventually to his order cancelling the mutation of a key land transfer from Mr. Vadra to the real estate giant, DLF, was held on October 8, where the sale deed of village Shikohpur and the mutation papers were called for and examined in the presence of district officials.

‘Mutation’ is the legal term for substitution of the name of one person by the name of another in the record showing right or title to the property.

The reference to the October 8 meeting with other officials is made in passing in an internal memo signed by Mr. Ashok Khemka on October 15 which set out in brief the background to the order cancelling mutation he issued the same day.

The October 15 memo reads: “In view of serious allegations raised in the media by “India Against Corruption” [IAC] concerning the functioning of registering offices and Consolidation Department, the impugned sale deed of village Shikohpur, District Gurgaon along with mutation was called for on 8th October, 2012, when the district officials were present in a departmental inquiry. On presentation of the said document, an order no. IGR/2012/7185-88 dated 12th October, 2012 addressed to the Deputy Commissioners of Gurgaon, Faridabad, Mewat and Palwal was issued u/s 69(1) of The Registration Act, 1908. Another order bearing no EA4/2012/4620-21 dated 15th October, 2012 under section 42 of the East Punjab Holdings (Consolidation and Prevention of Fragmentation) Act, 1948 is made today. The orders are issued to the concerned. May be taken on record of this office.”

This note makes it clear that the process leading to the issuing of a formal order to examine all of Mr. Vadra’s documents began at least three days before Mr. Khemka was transferred.

Other internal papers accessed by The Hindu give an indication of the circumstances in which the decision finally got taken. In a handwritten official note dated October 12, 2012, Mr. Khemka states: “As reported in the press (The Hindu dated 8/10/2012; The Indian Express dated 12/10/2012), it is fit and appropriate to order an enquiry into the registries of lands by Shri Robert Vadra and his companies as regards alleged under-valuations is alleged by IAC [India Against Corruption] and Leader of Opposition of Haryana Vidhan Sabha. In case the allegations are false, the fair name of our registering officer will be cleared in public. In case the allegations are correct, it is appropriate that Shri Robert Vadra compensates the State.....After all, Shri Robert Vadra is a citizen and is amenable to the rule of law like any other ordinary citizen. A detailed order addressed to DCs of Gurgaon, Mewat, Faridabad and Palwal is pasted today and signed. Please issue.”

‘Two-year minimum tenure’

The Hindu also has a Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions (DoPT) notification dated October 13, 2010 revealing that Mr Khemka — who was thrown out of office within three months — was supposed to remain for a minimum tenure of two years at the senior post of Director-General/ Commissioner which he held in the Haryana government.

RELATED NEWS

Khemka refutes Haryana government claims, says transfer mala fide Congress baring its Emergency mindset, says BJP Senior official probing Vadra-DLF land deal shunted out Khemka transfer in compliance with court directive: Haryana Kejriwal slams Hooda govt on official’s transfer Khurshid dares Kejriwal to visit Farrukhabad A public-private partnership

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Cong springs to Vadras defence to shield Sonia

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: The Congresss flip-flop over Robert Vadra continued when on Tuesday the party jumped to the defence of Sonia Gandhis sonin-law in the wake of controversial transfer of Haryana IAS officer Ashok Khemka,who probed his land deal,casting aside the stance that he was a private individual.
Congress leaders lined up to question the allegation that Haryana government had transferred Khemka because he dared to probe the sale of land by Vadra to realty major DLF.Khemka wrote a letter to Haryana CM alleging that his shunting out was linked to investigation into the reports that the value of Vadra-DLF land deals was underreported.AICC spokesman Manish Tewari called the drama chicanery of the worst kind,regretting the issue had taken such a turn since the transfer was rooted in a local court order.The partys state in charge B K Hari Prasad said,The allegations are baseless.There is no witch hunt.We do not question the integrity of the officer.Its prerogative of the government to transfer any bureaucrat.
The strong defence was at odds with partys fresh decision to keep a safe distance from Vadra since he courted controversy.AICC spokesman Sandeep Dik**** on Monday said,He is a private individual who is free to do whatever he wants to do in his business.There is nothing more that can be said something that marked an abrupt switch from the first response to the allegations by Arvind Kejriwal.

Kejriwal,Khemka have a lot in common

Arvind Kejriwal and whistleblower Ashok Khemka may have hit the headlines for taking on Robert Vadra,but they have more in common than just that.They both studied at the Indian Institute of Technology,Kharagpur and passed out in 1989.While Kejriwal studied mechanical engineering,Khemka opted for computer engineering at the institute.While both opted for the civil services,their paths to government service were different.Khemka is a 1991 batch IAS officer while Kejriwal was selected for the Indian Revenue Service in 1992.However,both have had a rocky relationship with the establishment.TNN

Admin · Guru

Stroke of luck or business sense? Robert Vadra strikes gold through land deals in Bikaner

NOTE: PEP (Politically Exposed Person) in intl. financial transactions.

SUDHANSHU MISHRA | Jaipur, October 20, 2012 | 03:47

Vadra may have pocketed Rs 100 crore through his land dealings in Gajner.

Call it a huge stroke of luck or a keen sense of business acumen, Robert Vadra struck gold through sale and purchase of land in the parched deserts of Bikaner, Rajasthan .

In the process, Congress president Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law is said to have pocketed a cool Rs 100 crore.

This land, currently meant for a solar power project, belonged to Vadra.

What is significant about Vadra's land dealings in Bikaner is that he was among the first to buy property there when Bikaner's Gajner town of Kolayat tehsil was hardly seen as an investment destination because of its aridness and lack of infrastructure.

It all started in December 2008, when Ashok Gehlot ousted the BJP's Vasundhara Raje in the assembly elections and came to power in the desert state.

Click here to Enlarge

Soon after, Vadra went on a land buying spree through six of his companies, M/s Blue Breeze Trading Pvt Ltd, Sky Light Realty Pvt Ltd, Sky Light Hospitality Pvt Ltd, Real Earth Estates Pvt Ltd, North India IT Park Pvt Ltd and Lambodar Art Enterprises Pvt Ltd.

Between 2009 and 2011, Vadra had acquired 733.18 acres, spread across 32 plots, in Gajner, 30 km from Bikaner, the district headquarters.

Then earlier this year, between February and May, Vadra sold almost all of it, making a huge profit.

When contacted, renowned Supreme Court advocate KTS Tulsi, who counts Vadra as a client, said he did not have the necessary information to comment on the issue.

A jamabandi paper shows the 'landowner's name' as 'M/s Sky Light Realty Pvt Ltd, 268 Sukhdev Vihar'.

"It's any citizen's right to acquire property and dispose it off," Tulsi said, adding that he was not speaking on Vadra's behalf as far as the Rajasthan property was concerned. "This matter doesn't deserve any attention without more (information)," he added.

What is of significance in the land dealings is that Vadra went on a land buying spree in Gajner, the same place where the Gehlot government proposed to develop an industrial area.

It is unclear if Vadra had prior information about the government's plans for industrial development in Gajner or had a strong intuition about them.

But as Vadra's land was adjacent to the proposed industrial area of the Rajasthan Industrial Development and Investment Corporation Ltd (RIICO), the worth of Vadra's land shot up.

A grid substation installed by the Rajasthan government recently for its industrial area.

The land cost escalated further after the Rajasthan government installed a 320 KV grid substation recently for the industrial area.

So when Vadra sold his property earlier this year, he made a huge killing. According to BJP MLA of Kolayat Devi Singh Bhati, Vadra must have made at least Rs 100 crore as the prevailing market rate at that time was Rs 13 lakh to Rs 13.5 lakh per acre.

The land revenue records and jamabandi papers (records of rights), the copies of which are with Mail Today, show that of the 733.18 acres, Vadra has kept only 11.83 acres.

The jamabandi records of the revenue department reveal that Vadra sold his land to VCB Trading Pvt Ltd, Fonroche Saras Energy Pvt Ltd, Fonroche Rajhans Energy Pvt Ltd, Sanchiya Enterprises Pvt Ltd, Elegance Finlease Pvt Ltd and BS Trade Invest Pvt Ltd.

Fonroche Saras and Fonroche Rajhans have already finalised financial closure for their respective solar power projects in the proposed industrial area, sources said. Vadra has sold only one piece of land - 8.02 acres - to a private party, one Rishipal of Mewat in Haryana.

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/robert-vadra-gehlot-government-sale-and-purchase-of-land-bikaner/1/225495.html

Admin · Guru

Gurgaongate -- MG Devasahayam. What a 'world-class' city!

GURGAON GATE (October 2012)

I have been closely following the DLF-Vadra-Haryana Government Nexus brought out by Arvind Kejriwal and the expose by Ashok Khemka in the electronic and print media. I would dare say that what has come out is not even a tip of the iceberg and investigating Vadra alone will not even bring out a fraction of the rot and the loot.

Because the genesis of Gandhi-DLF partnership commenced from early eighties and Rajiv Gandhi to whom KP Singh gives all credit was only a Manager. The real force behind was the person whom many worship as Goddess Durga - Madame Indira Gandhi. The Nexus started in 1980 when KP Singh was going around with 3000 acres of Gurgaon land bought at a pittance to build a very-high intensity 'world-class' city wheras Gurgaon did not have the carrying capacity to even withstand low-density development. There was no intention whatsoever of allowing private develoment since Haryan Urban Development Authority was fairly well organised for the task.The then Haryana Chief Minister Bhajan Lal who had defected to Indira Gandhi en masse on her returning to power in 1980 became a willing agent and the State Government machinery was put at the disposal of DLF to make Gurgaon a super-world class city by destroying every vestige of environmrnt and sustainability.

To facilitate this, the humble undersigned who was then Director, Town & Country Planning, Haryana and Chief Administrator, HUDA was eased out of the job, but not as crudely as Ashok Khemka has been thrown out now.

Soon thereafter laws and Rules were changed to allowed private companies to develop land. Gurgaon underwent a private real estate boom which is continuing to this day. This is what is called the Millennium City which in fact is a Monster City. This is a write-up I came across about Gurgaon which I fully endorse:

"What a 'world-class' city! It never thought of its water resources. Most homes and buildings depend today on bottled water for drinking and cooking purposes. Groundwater is being sucked dry by every individual. It legally 'steals' national grid's massive electricity to maintain its glitter and air conditioning. Glass buildings all across in a location of high temperature for 8 months of a year. Needs 24 hours ACs and thus contributes to global warming. Got expressway exclusively for car owners and today serves as the worst example of how road development based on toll gates should never be done. No public transport incentives (Delhi Metro is for distant connectivity, not local). Posh markets cater only to high-end consumers. Informal labour (serving elites and middle class) lives despicable life. No low cost formal housing made by DLF for poor. No formal small time entertainment,eating or outing avenues developed ever for poor or lower-middle class citizens. Rare govt hospital or dispensary. Hardly schools or colleges of decent standard developed with reasonable fee structure for lower middle class or poor. An island of concrete and glass everywhere adding to heat island effect leading to climate warming. Every green space is being preyed upon by DLF and likes. Truly a satellite town developed for the elite, by the elite, of the elite. A perfect example of copying American style of sub-urbanization for gentrification to provide 'glamorous' landscape for rich and middle class situated next to Delhi. A standing testimony as to how urbanisation should not be done in India."

We had desperately wanted to prevent this in the early eighties, but did not succeed.

If there is any investigation it should start from 1980 if it is to have any meaning.

M.G.Devasahayam

http://www.indianbuzz.com/index.php#news17024

Admin · Guru

Robert Vadra-Imelda Marcos syndrome - Venky Vembu. Nationalise illicit wealth. Ask for Restitution of illicit wealth of PEPs (Politically Exposed Persons)

See also: http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2012/02/nationalisation-of-illicit-wealth-held.html

Nationalisation of illicit wealth...

Venky fails to mention what happened to the Marcos after the vulgarity of their greed was exposed. Schweizer Illustrierte published Imelda Marcos photo. The same issue also published Rajiv Gandhi's photo. Rajiv Gandhi Swiss Bank Accounts allegation - Schweizer Illustrierte, 11 November, 1991 View SCAN COPY of Schweizer Illustrierte's issue of 11 November, 1991 http://www.scribd.com/dharmanext/d/75105765-Rajiv-Gandhi-Swiss-Bank-Accounts-allegation-Schweizer-Illustrierte-11-November-1991

Marcos, RajivG, SoniaG, Vadra, RahulG et al are PEPs (Politically Exposed Persons), a category recognized in international financial transactions in the context of KYC financial propriety principle.

The remedy thought up the Swiss Federation for restitution of ilicit wealth of PEPs and now effective has to be applied to the Marcos-Vadra type syndromes.

Read the Federal Act on the Restitution of Assets of Politically Exposed Persons obtained by Unlawful Means (Restitution of Illicit Assets Act -- RIAA).

Govt. of India can enact a nationalization ordinance of such illicit wealth the way Indira Gandhi nationalised Private banks.

Kalyanaraman

Never enough: Robert Vadra and the Imelda Marcos syndrome

by Venky Vembu Oct 20, 2012

SO SEE

It’s amazing what one gets to see when the palace doors come loose on their hinges.

In 1986, when a ‘people’s power’ revolution in the Philippines toppled Ferdinand Marcos from power, ending a 21-year dictatorial reign, the dirty unwashed masses, who had been robbed blind by Marcos’ corrupt ways for a generation, got a chance to see what had been going on behind the high walls of Malacanang Palace.

They learnt, for instance, that during those 20-plus years in power, he and his diva-esque wife Imelda Marcos had embezzled public funds running to billions of dollars and channelled them into accounts and investments in Switzerland, the US and elsewhere.

While that was, of course, scandalous, it merely validated long-held suspicions – and, to that extent, did not induce much of a shock.

What did, instead, induce shock – and a sense of puzzlement – was the realisation, when the wide doors of the palace were pulled down, that inside the gilded palace in which she lived, Imelda Marcos had stashed away 2,700 pairs of shoes.

Even today, it boggles the mind why anyone who is not into monomaniacal acquisition of fetishist footwear would want 2,700 pairs of shoes. As Time magazine columnist Lance Morrow observed at that time (after doing a bit of mental arithmetic), if Imelda Marcos had changed her shoes three times a day, and never wore the same pair twice, it would have taken her more than two years and five months to work through her shoe supply, as it existed on the day she fled Manila. “And since she undoubtedly would continue to buy new shoes even while trying to do justice to the old supply, it is clear she could never wear all of her shoes.”

When Robert Vadra sees a map of India, does he only see a prime bit of real estate? Reuters

Much the same can be said of the frenzy of land acquisition by our politicians – and, at least in one case, a politician’s son-in-law – the sordid details of which have been tumbling out of cupboards in recent days.

In almost all the cases that have come to light, the modus operandi for instant fortunes is simple: corner large plots of agricultural land, bought on the cheap from farmers, change the land-use pattern (which those in positions of power can get done in double-quick time), and sell it to real-estate developers for windfall profits. It’s the alchemy of the new age, only it comes with infinitely better return on investment.

Of course, if you’re someone as privileged as Sonia Gandhi‘s son-in-law Robert Vadra, you don’t have even have to make the initial investment: an excessively generous real-estate developer like DLF will lend you the money for the land purchase – and buy back the land at many multiples of the purchase price. And governments in States under the rule of the party that your saas lords over will grease the tracks for your personal fortunes to grow at exponential rates – without doing a stroke of honest work.

The latest revelations of Vadra’s land purchases in Bikaner in Rajasthan (another State that is under Congress rule) are illustrative of how breezily the land deals were consummated – and windfall profits were made. From all accounts, Vadra acquired large tracts of land in places where he (being who he is) had inside information on upcoming industrial projects. And once the projects were announced, and land prices shot up, he booked supernormal profits – up to 40 times the purchase price – in just a matter of months.

It’s a classic example of what stock market regulators call “insider trading” or “front-running“: of undue benefits being derived from privileged access to information, in the way that Robert Vadra had.

In his case, Vadra had it even better: the Congress government in Rajasthan actively directed investments to the areas where Vadra had bought land. As Devi Singh Bhati, six-time MLA of Kolayat where most of the land deals in Bikaner took place, told DNA newspaper: “Vadra clearly misused his position as the son-in-law of Sonia Gandhi. The land was purchased either in the knowledge that industrial projects would be announced, or circumstances were created to bring projects to the area.”

The oil baron J Paul Getty, who was in his time the world’s richest private citizen, used facetiously to describe his formula for success: “Rise early, work hard, strike oil.” On the strength of available evidence, Vadra appears to have worked out an even better winning formula, which does away with the element of luck you need to strike oil: buy land, using money that was gratuitously lent to him because of who he is, and set off a self-propelling series of land transactions, whose land-use could be changed virtually overnight because of his political influence.

Of course, more recent revelations show that it isn’t just Vadra who has leveraged this banana republic’s status as a ”land of opportunity”. But it’s fair to say that in terms of political influence to get governments to fast-track applications for land-use pattern change, and get the entire Union Ministry to cover for him when embarrassing details surface of his business fortunes built on gratuitous interest-free loans from corporates, Vadra is uniquely placed.

But when will this perpetual motion machine that feeds off shadowy land deals, this ceaseless accumulation of unearned fortunes, this gluttony of easy riches built on influence-peddling and insider trading, end? When he looks at a map of India, does Vadra only see a prime bit of real estate that he can buy – with unsecured loans – and sell for 40x?

There’s no knowing how many more pairs of shoes Imelda Marcos would have accumulated if she hadn’t been hounded out of Malacanang Palace. Likewise with Vadra, if he cared to peep beyond the palace walls, he will see the enraged dirty, unwashed masses standing outside with pitchforks. And the hinges on those gilded palace doors are fast coming loose.

http://www.firstpost.com/india/never-enough-robert-vadra-and-the-imelda-marcos-syndrome-497082.html

Admin · Guru

Rahul Gandhi & Robert Vadra - Land Registry & Mutation copies (Full text of 32 pages)

October 18, 2012

Download & View:

Rahul Gandhi & Robert Vadra - Land Registry & Mutation copiesSource: Om Prakash Chautala, INLD http://www.scribd.com/doc/110403634/Rahul-Gandhi-Robert-Vadra-Land-Registry-Mutation-copies

Admin · Guru

Govt not too happy with Ashok Khemka going to the media

Vishwa Mohan, TNN | Oct 18, 2012, 02.22AM IST

IAS officer Ashok Khemka's decision to take his grievances to the media does not seem to have gone down well with the government.

NEW DELHI: IAS officer Ashok Khemka's decision to take his grievances to the media does not seem to have gone down well with the government.

Though neither Khemka, who has been transferred 43 times in 19 years, nor the state government has approached the ministry of personnel, officials here appeared to be critical of his going to the media with his complaint of abrupt transfer. The ministry of personnel looks after the affairs of the elite service.

Citing the All India Services (Conduct) Rules 1968, an official said, "The IAS officer has violated the rule by approaching media. The Haryana government is, therefore, well within its right to initiate disciplinary proceedings against him."

Rule 7 prohibits any IAS officer from approaching the media in any way "which has the effect of an adverse criticism of any current or recent policy or action of the central government or a state government".

No official in the ministry, however, came on 'record' while explaining the service rules, considering the popular mood against the transfer of an upright officer who dared to speak against his political masters.

Khemka was transferred from the post of director general (consolidation of holdings and land records) last week after he ordered scrutiny of files relating to land records of Robert Vadra, the son-in-law of UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi.

Although the state government claimed to have effected the transfer for "administrative reasons", Khemka questioned the move, saying it was in violation of the statutory IAS (Fixation of Cadre Strength) Regulations, 2010 that guarantees a minimum tenure of two years.

He also claimed that the state government had "abruptly" transferred him as a "punishment" for acting as a whistle-blower in several dubious land transactions.

Government record shows that most of his postings lasted for merely months. During the past 19 years, he held eight posts in various departments for a month or less.

Besides the 2010 regulations on fixation of cadre strength, the second Administrative Reforms Commission had strongly pitched for giving fixed 'tenure' to both civil and police officials and urged the Centre to take up the matter with states on priority basis. Various government panels, too, have been critical of the manner in which IAS/IPS officers are transferred due to political interference.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Govt-not-too-happy-with-Ashok-Khemka-going-to-the-media/articleshow/16857542.cms

Admin · Guru

Ashok Khemka, Senior IAS officer probing Vadra-DLF land deal shunted out. It is time to shunt out SoniaG, PEP, mother-in-law of Vadra.

Khemka speaks to Times Now - http://toi.in/Tq7Jkv

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CeENePppFTQ

'Why was I transferred?' asks Haryana IAS officer who ordered probe into Vadra's land deals
Sukhbir Siwach, TNN | Oct 16, 2012, 10.39AM IST

NEW DELHI: A top IAS officer in Haryana, Ashok Khemka, who was recently trasferred by the state government for allegedly ordering a probe into the land deals of Robert Vadra, has spoken out against his abrupt transfer.

Significantly, on Monday, the last day of his posting as director general of land consolidation and land records-cum- inspector-general of registration, Khemka issued an order cancelling the mutation of over 3 acre plot of land in Manesar-Shikohpur that Vadra had sold to DLF.

The prime plot of land was bought by Robert Vadra in February 2008 for Rs 7.5 crore. A month later, in March 2008, Vadra's company was given a licence by Haryana's town and country planning (TCP) department to develop a housing colony on this site. Within 65 days of the licence being granted, Vadra entered into an "agreement to sell" this plot to DLF for Rs 58 crore.

During his tenure in consolidation of land holdings department, Khemka discovered illegal mutation, an exercise to record the ownership of property in revenue record, of thousands of acres of panchayat land. Khemka ordered probe into the alleged undervaluation of some of the land deals of Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law.

Speaking to Times Now, the 1991-batch IAS officer said, "On October 8, I initiated a probe into the alleged reports of undervaluation based on media reports and allegations of wrongdoing by my office." "I was served a transfer order on October 11 at 10pm at my residence," Khemka said seeking an explanation for his transfer. He refused to make any direct comments on the reason behind his transfer. "It is for the state government to answer this question," Khemka said. "I have suffered 40 transfers in 20 years. I would want to know why I am transferred, so that I can take corrective action and become a better civil servant," he said.

Khemka was transferred from his post of director general, consolidations of holdings and land records, afer a tenure of less than two months, and posted as managing director of Haryana Seeds Development Corporation, which was last under an officer 12 years his junior.

Khemka wrote a letter to state chief secreatary PK Chaudhery on October 12, objecting to his transfer. "It is shocking to learn about my abrupt transfer...this is deliberate and malafide to punish me due to some vested elements in the political-bureaucratic hierarchy affected by the expose of the scams in consolidation of land holdings under the exercise of powers," the letter said.

Before the land holding department, Khemka was heading Haryana electronics development corporation ltd. (Hartron) but was shifted in 50 days after he exposed its corrupt practices.

Reacting to Ashok Khemka's outburst, Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda denied that his transfer was a punishment. The chief minister went on to threaten action against Khemka if his statements were found to be untrue. 'The chief secretary has been told to probe his allegations. The state government has not given any undue favours to anyone. We will take action against Khemka if it is found that he has misrepresented facts," Hooda said.

India Against Corruption activist Arvind Kejriwal has criticized the Haryana government's move to transfer the officer and has alleged that he has been punished for daring to probe Robert Vadra. Kejriwal also raised questions on the transfer policy of the state government. The BJP also criticized the Haryana government for victimizing the officer for acting against Vadra's land deals.

This is not for the first time that a civil servant or a whistleblower has been harassed and witch-hunted in Haryana. Earlier, IFS officer, Sanjiv Chaturvedi was transferred 12 times by the Haryana government during 2005-2010 after he exposed irregularities in the forest department. The state government was forced to revoke his suspension and chargesheet after the intervention of the President in 2008 and 2010 respectively.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Why-was-I-transferred-asks-Haryana-IAS-officer-who-ordered-probe-into-Vadras-land-deals/articleshow/16833099.cms

Published: October 16, 2012 03:26 IST | Updated: October 16, 2012 03:30 IST

Senior official probing Vadra-DLF land deal shunted out

National Bureau

images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQOXxu04tR19m48BZ_SCWtu3UqXUAwaAPhPUVSWLpRg7qKlXGNKWw

Ashok Khemka. Congratulations, Khemka. You make every Indian so proud. Jeevema s'aradah s'atam. Kalyan

According to The Hindu, a top official in the Haryana government’s land registration department was transferred hours after he initiated a probe into all the land dealings of Robert Vadra. File photo