[IAC#RG] IAC gets DDA to scrap Nilekani's UIDAI HQ sweetheart deal

IAC gets DDA to scrap Nilekani's UIDAI HQ sweetheart deal

Aftab Shah  | India News Political Bureau, Gurgaon, Monday September 16, 2013, 23:19 pm (IST) 

The Delhi Development Authority's statutory board of enquiry has accepted a prayer by India Against Corruption (IAC) to scrap a change of land use ("CLU") proposal for the Headquarter of Unique Identification Authority of India ("UIDAI"). Sarbajit Roy, the national convenor of IAC, had alleged that the valuable piece of land admeasuring 4,400 sq yards in New Delhi's Connaught Place, worth Rs900 crore, was leased to Nandan Nilekani-led UIDAI at throwaway price using the CLU.

Meanwhile Indianewsco's sources said today that Nilekani is seeking a Congress ticket to contest polls from Bangalore after his term at the UIDAI expires and the controversial UIDAI program itself may be shelved if Congress fails to return to power in 2014. The UIDAI program has only a 5 year executive mandate, issued in 2008 which expires in October 2013, without it being able to secure legislative legitimacy.

According to India Against Corruption, the plot of land formerly owned by telecom department in Delhi which is now worth Rs900 crore was allotted to UIDAI's headquarter at throwaway price involving changing its the land use plan from public use to Government office.

After IAC highlighted that the huge plot of land in Central Delhi was a valuable piece of land being leased off for a pittance, it seems the DDA summoned the land allotting agency (L&DO) whereupon it emerged that the possession of the land (formerly with the Department of Telecom-DoT) is now with Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) but another state-run unit Mahanagar Telecom Nigam Ltd (MTNL) has laid claims over the land as it is in Delhi.