October 11, 2012 / 12:13 IST
Even as CNN-IBN has accessed documents that show that Robert Vadra bought acres of land in Mewat, Haryana, well below the circle rate, the Congress is staying adamant saying it will not order a probe into Vadra's land deals. Speaking to CNN-IBN, Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari said, "You cannot investigate lies. Mr Vadra has done his duty as a private citizen and according to law."
Slamming Arvind Kejriwal for his allegations on Vadra, Manish Tewari added, "What has now interestingly come out is that these people are not prepared to respect the Supreme Court stay, they do not know the difference between an acre and a hectacre, not prepared to respect a multi-state bidding process and within 24 hours when they were confronted with very detailed rebuttals and raked over the hot coals of truth, their lies got exposed." "All allegations by Kejriwal have been found to be false," Tewari added. The Opposition, meanwhile, has been demanding an investigation.Also Read: Cong should stop defending Vadra, order fair probe: BJPJust a day after Haryana government denied favouring Congress president Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law Vadra and DLF, CNN-IBN accessed documents showing how Vadra bought acres of land in the Mewat region of Haryana below the circle rate. The documents suggest Vadra has been on a property buying spree in Haryana and had picked up acres of land directly from farmers in 2008 and 2009.Vadra's firm Real Earth Estates Ltd purchased over 27 acres in Mewat region and paid rates way lower than collector's fixed circle rates for the region. Villagers say land sale at rates lower than circle rates is common in Mewat. The Opposition now alleges low price land sale to Vadra should be investigated.Documents in possession of CNN-IBN suggest Vadra bought land around Mewat at an average price of Rs 2.6 lakh an acre during 2009. Registration documents show a firm, Messrs Real Earth Estates Private Limited as the purchaser through its director Robert Vadra. Strangely, while the collector's circle rate for property in the villages Shakarpuri and Ferozepur Jhirka in Mewat is Rs 16 lakh per acre, Vadra's firm purchased land from the villagers at the following rates:- Ruby Tabassum: 2 acres sold for Rs 7 lakh- Anand Dutch Foods India Ltd: 8 acres sold for R 20 lakh- Smt Memoona: 2 acres sold for Rs 7 lakh- Smt Razia: 2 acres sold for Rs 7 lakh- Sri Subhash Chand: 2 acres sold for Rs 6 lakh- Smt Firdaus Begum: 11 acres Sold for Rs 24 lakhThe average price paid by Vadra for these purchases works out to Rs 2.6 lakh an acre, even as his firm paid up stamp duty on the official collector rate of Rs 16 lakh an acre. Collector rates are considered the base price for sale of land for revenue purposes and are usually far below the market price of the land. Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
