Daler Mehndi again in trouble, land confiscated in Gurgaon

16 February, 2013

Sohna town municipal committee in Gurgaon district locked down part of the land owned by pop Punjabi singer Daler Mehendi. The 10 acres of land is part of the singer's 112-acre farmhouse located at Damdama area in Sohna in Gurgaon.

The action came on the directions of the sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) who had filed a case under the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act in June 2011 when it had identified that 1,900 acres village common land had been handed to private parties illegally with the help of local tehsildar by revenue department officials. Then those private buyers further sold the land to these celebrities and many realty developers, at hefty rates.

Reports by Indian Express also said that the administration also served a 15-day showcause notice to the singer for part of the remaining land, which officials said was being illegally occupied by the farmhouse of the star.

It's not just Daler Mehendi who has been found to possess this land illegally. After the complaint in June 2011 and an investigation by Deputy Commissioner PC Meena, it was found that almost 1,900 acres belonging to the municipal committee was occupied illegally by many parties which includes many bigwigs.

Taking action on complaints, on finding irregularities, in June 2011, Meena had ordered the mutation of the land and its restoration to the municipal committee.

The attachment of the 10-acre land belonging to Daler Mehendi was part of this drive. Around 1,600 acre, of the total 1,900 acres, found to be illegally occupied has been restored to the municipal committee till date. The process is on to restore the remaining land," Meena told Indian Express.

Two tehsildars were found guilty of helping private parties to grab land in the area. After a departmental inquiry, they have been suspended. An FIR has been lodged against them and police investigation is on," Meena said.

Last year, on December 7, the district administration had also filed an FIR against two tehsildars who had done fraud and assigned the titles of the land in the name of private parties in 1999-2000 without taking the panchayat, the MC and the forest department into confidence and taking permission.