Senior officials questioned as agency examines records linked to Remigate and other cases; action follows months of investigation into alleged irregularities in Mohali real-estate approvals
Mohali : The Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday conducted a major search operation at the office of the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) in Phase 8, Mohali, as part of an expanding investigation into alleged irregularities surrounding land deals, Change of Land Use permissions and real-estate projects in the region.
The operation was carried out by ED teams accompanied by a substantial contingent of CRPF personnel. According to the latest reports, investigators seized official records relating to the Remigate case as well as documents connected with other cases involving alleged irregularities in the grant of Change of Land Use permissions to private builders.
At least three floors of the GMADA office were sealed during the operation, while the mobile phones of some senior officials were taken into custody, according to sources cited by The Tribune. Senior officials, including the Estate Officer, Additional Chief Administrator and Chief Engineer, were called to the office of the Secretary, Housing, where they were questioned by the investigating team.
The exact scope of Tuesday’s search is still emerging, and the ED has not publicly detailed all the records or individuals covered by the operation. However, the action comes against the backdrop of a months-long investigation into alleged financial and procedural irregularities in the Greater Mohali region.
What is the ED investigating?
The investigation has increasingly focused on the manner in which land was acquired and developed around Mohali, and on the regulatory approvals required to convert agricultural land for other uses.
One of the key issues under investigation is Change of Land Use, commonly known as CLU. Such permissions allow land to be used for purposes different from its original classification, including residential and commercial development.
The ED is examining several alleged irregularities, including land acquisitions, CLU permissions, alleged benefits extended to private real-estate developers and the auction of properties, according to the latest reporting on Tuesday’s raid.
The agency’s scrutiny of GMADA has been building for several months.
In May, the ED summoned GMADA Chief Administrator Sandeep Kumar in connection with its money-laundering investigation into alleged irregularities involving CLU approvals granted to the Suntec City and Altus Space Builders projects.
The agency sought official records relating to those approvals and directed the GMADA chief administrator, or an authorised gazetted officer, to appear before it and produce documents. GMADA had then said it would fully cooperate with the investigation and provide whatever records were required.
The summons followed searches at around a dozen locations in Mohali, Chandigarh, New Chandigarh and Patiala in May. The premises searched included those connected with the Indian Cooperative Housing Building Society, which was associated with the Suntec City project, as well as several real-estate companies and individuals.
Suntec City case forms an important part of the investigation
The investigation has also resulted in criminal proceedings against Ajay Sehgal, secretary of the Indian Co-operative House Building Limited.
In July, the ED filed a prosecution complaint before the Special Court under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act in Mohali, alleging that nearly Rs 348 crore represented proceeds of crime connected with the Suntec City project.
According to the ED’s allegations, forged consent letters were used to obtain CLU approvals for a project spread over more than 108 acres of agricultural land in the Greater Mohali area. The agency alleged that GMADA subsequently granted a licence for the residential and commercial project.
The ED said its investigation had identified proceeds of crime of about Rs 348 crore, including proceeds from sales and the value of unsold inventory. Searches conducted earlier in the year reportedly resulted in the recovery of documents, electronic devices and unaccounted cash. These remain allegations by the investigating agency and will be tested through the legal process.
Sehgal was arrested by the ED in May under the PMLA. The agency’s prosecution complaint alleges money laundering arising from scheduled offences connected with alleged fraudulent land-use permissions and other regulatory violations.
Why Tuesday’s GMADA raid matters
GMADA occupies a central position in the planning and development of the Greater Mohali region. Its responsibilities involve major aspects of urban development, land-use regulation, infrastructure and property-related decisions.
That makes the presence of the ED inside the authority’s headquarters significant from an investigative standpoint.
The agency is not merely examining the activities of individual builders. Its latest action indicates that investigators are also scrutinising official records and decisions associated with the regulatory process through which land and real-estate projects received approvals.
The seizure of records and questioning of senior officials could help investigators establish how particular permissions were processed, who was involved in decision-making and whether alleged financial transactions were connected with regulatory approvals.
However, the presence of an agency at a government office or the questioning of officials does not by itself establish wrongdoing by those officials. Any criminal liability will depend on evidence gathered during the investigation and subsequent proceedings.
A wider scrutiny of Mohali’s real-estate sector
Tuesday’s operation is the latest development in a series of ED actions in and around Mohali this year.
The agency has already conducted searches at properties linked to builders and real-estate entities, investigated alleged CLU irregularities and examined transactions involving projects in the Greater Mohali area.
In a separate case, the ED has also investigated alleged financial irregularities involving the Chandigarh Royale City project. The case originated from a Punjab Police FIR concerning alleged defaults in statutory liabilities payable to GMADA and dishonoured cheques amounting to about Rs 32.67 crore. The ED subsequently sought project-related records from GMADA as part of its money-laundering investigation.
The agency’s investigations therefore cover multiple strands of the region’s real-estate and land-development ecosystem rather than a single transaction.
Investigation likely to focus on official records
For investigators, GMADA’s files could provide a paper trail linking land ownership, CLU applications, approvals, licences, development permissions, property auctions and financial transactions.
The questioning of senior officials could also help the agency understand how decisions were taken and whether procedures were followed in individual cases.
According to Tuesday’s report, some officials could be taken into custody for further questioning, although there was no official confirmation of such arrests at the time of reporting.
The ED’s investigation is continuing, and the agency has yet to publish a detailed account of the material seized during Tuesday’s operation.
For Mohali, where rapid urban expansion has transformed large parts of the region into major residential, commercial and institutional centres, the investigation places renewed attention on the systems through which agricultural and other land is converted, developed and brought into the urban economy.
The immediate question is now what the ED finds in the records seized from GMADA and whether those documents lead investigators to further individuals, companies or transactions.
For now, the raid remains an investigative action. The allegations under examination have not been finally adjudicated, and any conclusions about wrongdoing will depend on the evidence gathered and the outcome of the legal proceedings.