The Supreme Court has taken another step towards the auction of thousands of bighas of land/property of Golden Forest worth Rs 1,484 crore. In the last hearing, the Supreme Court had clarified that the auction of the property would be done at the Pan India (All India) level. Now in the latest hearing, the court has clarified that three parties have shown interest in the auction. Therefore, the bench of Justice BR Gavai and Justice Sandeep Mehta has ordered the Uttarakhand government to maintain status quo on the properties of Golden Forest.
Situation of panic among officers
After the Supreme Court’s continuous move towards auction, there is a situation of panic among the land mafia and officers. Because, the countdown of the chapter of Golden Forest which was considered to be over till now has started. At the same time, the problems of those officials who allowed the land of the Golden Forest to deteriorate may also increase. The Supreme Court is also accelerating action towards auctioning the properties of Golden Forest, so that the people who have invested money in Golden Forest companies can get their money back. For this, on the orders of the Supreme Court, the Income Tax Department had also evaluated the land of Golden Forest located in Dehradun district. In which the Income Tax Department has estimated the value of the property at more than Rs 1,484 crore. This report has also been filed in the Supreme Court. The position on this report has been clarified in the last hearing, whereas now it has come to light that three parties have shown interest in auctioning the properties of Golden Forest located in different states including Uttarakhand. However, the door has been kept open for other parties also. The Supreme Court bench has said in its order that the properties of Golden Forest will be auctioned on as is where basis. This means that whatever the condition of the property, it will be included in the bid in that form. The court also said that if a land is subject to any litigation, the bidding will be conducted with the same risk. The Supreme Court clarified that to avoid further complications in the properties of Golden Forest, orders have been issued to maintain status quo on the properties. In such a situation, the status quo will be applicable to the properties (454 hectares) which have been considered surplus and have been vested in the state government. The serious thing is that the previous Trivendra government has already allotted all such land to various departments.
Land is still being destroyed in Misras Patti
The Misras belt of the Golden Forest has large tracts of land. However, due to the negligence of the authorities, the land mafia is purchasing it on a large scale. Same is the situation with properties near Mussoorie, Dhanaulti and Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration. At the same time, most of the land is being bought and sold in Vikasnagar tehsil area. The question is also that after the clear stand of the Supreme Court, how will the government and administration officials be able to get possession of these properties.
