Vigilance to probe if MCG gave hotel 'illegal' approach

GURGAON: The Haryana government on Monday ordered a vigilance probe into whether the MCG provided an illegal approach road to a hotel on MG Road after a complaint by Gurgaon MLA Umesh Aggarwal.
Aggarwal had raised this issue through a starred question in the assembly in March. He had also complained to chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar.
A State Vigilance Bureau (SVB) official said a vigilance inquiry was registered on July 23 and the probe would be conducted by the SVB, Gurgaon.Deputy inspector general Yoginder Singh Nehra will head the investigating team.
An MCG official said eight people below poverty line were given 100 square metre plots under the government's Twenty Point programme in 1977. The plots of three people were located exactly opposite this hotel. "In February 2014, the then MCG commissioner had ordered these structures to be demolished so that a direct approach from MG Road could be given to this hotel. This action had raised many eyebrows as it was directly benefiting the hotel and no permission was taken from the MCG House," said a senior MCG official.
Mayor Vimal Yadav confirmed that a House approval had not been taken. "On one occasion, a proposal was included in the meeting agenda to relocate these BPL families and give them plots elsewhere. However, no resolution was passed and the House did not approve of this passage. In fact, just a few days ago, I asked the MCG joint commissioner to inform us why this proposal was included in the agenda and retracted later," Yadav told TOI.
The MLA said that he hopes justice will be done. "I named former MCG commissioner Praveen Kumar in my complaint as this passage was provided flouting all rules in the book. He was the architect behind providing direct benefit to Pullman hotel (now Le Meridien) and his men had no option but to follow orders. In fact, as per my enquiry, the land allotted to this hotel and its building plan has also been passed adopting fraudulent means. Now that the vigilance probe is ordered, I hope the guilty will be booked," Aggarwal told TOI.
Despite repeated attempts, Praveen Kumar could not be reached for comments. The hotel authorities also refused to comment.