Congress alleges land scam in Haryana

NEW DELHI: The Congress on Saturday alleged a “land scam” in Haryana’s Faridabad claiming that “forested common land” has been illegally acquired by companies associated with Patanjali Group.nnPatanjali Group could not be reached for comments.nnCongress spokesperson Pawan Khera alleged that the BJP government in Haryana has helped the group in acquiring 400 acres of “forested common land” which can otherwise not be used for either farming or commercial use.nnAddressing a press conference here, he claimed that the state government has ordered consolidation of the land on Aravalli Hill range, though consolidation of holdings is allowed only for agricultural land and not forested land.nnKhera claimed that the order of consolidation violates the Supreme Court judgment of 2011 ordering return of all common lands to respective panchayats.nnHe alleged that a company with a revenue of Rs 60,000 gave advances worth Rs 15.50 crore to buy the land.nn”We demand a complete review of the illegal patronage provided by the state government of Haryana to private players like Patanjali at the expense of eco-sensitive zone of the Aravalli mountain range,” he said.nnHe also demanded that accountability be fixed on politicians and officers responsible for “such shameless connivance” in helping Ramdev and his close aide Balkrishna, who control Patanjali Group.nnSource: Press Trust of India