The Congress has accused the Uttarakhand government of giving away 142 acres of ‘heritage’ land of the George Everest Estate in Mussoorie, worth over Rs 30,000 crore, to a firm linked to Acharya Balkrishna, who is yoga guru Ramdev’s aide. The party said the land was allotted for an annual rent of just Rs 1 crore.
On Sunday, the Congress demanded a CBI probe into the matter under the supervision of the high court. Uttarakhand Pradesh Congress Committee president Karan Mahara termed it as the “biggest scam in the state so far.” He said the deal for the George Everest Estate tourism project was proof of the BJP’s “crony capitalism.”
"There should be a CBI probe under the supervision of the high court into the George Everest land scam. The BJP government has turned Uttarakhand into a den of loot. The Congress will fight on this issue from the streets to the House and will get justice for the peoples,” Mahara said in a press release.
He alleged that all three companies which bid in the tender floated by the Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board in December 2022—Rajas Aerosports and Adventures Private Limited, Bharuva Agri Science Private Limited and Prakriti Organics India Private Limited—were directly controlled by Balkrishna. This, he said, was a “clear violation” of tender rules and anti-collusion laws.
According to Mahara, the 142 acres of the George Everest Estate were given to Rajas Aerosports and Adventure Private Limited for 15 years at an annual rent of Rs 1 crore. He pointed out that the government had earlier taken a loan of Rs 23.5 crore from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to develop this land. Leader of Opposition Yashpal Arya had also demanded a probe by the CBI or a panel led by a retired judge.
“The government first spent Rs 23 crore of the ADB loan on beautifying the land worth billions, and then gave it to a private company for 15 years to earn just Rs 15 crore as rent. Only the government and the competent officers of the Uttarakhand tourism department can tell what kind of development model this is,” Arya said.
The ruling BJP rejected the allegations and said the allotment process for tourism activities at the George Everest Estate was carried out legally. BJP state media in-charge Manveer Singh Chauhan called the charges a “bundle of lies” and said, “Due procedure has been followed in the allocation of land for tourism activities in George Everest Estate.”
Also Read: LoP seeks probe into Mussoorie land lease to Ramdev aide
Follow us
