Hidden in the CBI FIR against Lalu Prasad, his son and deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav and wife and former chief minister Rabri Devi is a detail that points to a recurrent scam in Bihar that no one wants to probe too hard.
The CBI FIR mentions loss of revenue to the state exchequer in the registration of 3 acres of land near Saguna Mor in February 2005, because it was registered as agricultural land when it should have been commercial land as it is situated next to the road.
It is the plot where the Lalu family-owned mall, billed as Bihar's biggest, was coming up till the Centre stopped construction due to lack of environmental clearance.
Land revenue officials are tight-lipped over the alleged irregularity that allegedly happened when Rabri Devi was chief minister. "When permission is granted for agricultural land to be converted into commercial land where constructions can be made, the land taxes increase 10 folds. But in this particular case we have to find if the initiation has been made or not," said a department official who did not want to be identified.
The CBI FIR says the 3 acres of land was sold on February 25, 2005 to M/s Delight Marketing Company Pvt Ltd, in which RJD MP Prem Gupta's wife Sarla Gupta was director, through 10 sale deeds at a total cost of Rs 1.47 crore.
The amount, the CBI alleges, was not only below the circle rate but the plot was also registered as agricultural land instead of commercial land.
Even the BJP, which has concentrated on demanding Tejashwi's ouster from the cabinet, has remained silent on the irregularity of land registration. "I know that there has been an irregularity but the issue is so big that this appears to be a very small issue," said BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi. He alleged that construction of the mall had started without taking any clearance from any authority concerned.
RJD sources say they are not surprised over the silence of the BJP.
"Earlier this year, the JDU had raised the issue of BJP purchasing prime land in all the districts of the country including Bihar in the name of building district offices. The sale of land took place around the time of demonetisation and there were charges that the prices quoted were less than the market rate," a senior RJD leader pointed out, wondering why the JDU called for the Centre to probe the matter when the state government was competent enough to investigate.
The BJP lacks the moral authority to demand a probe into the issue, the RJD leader claimed.
Purchase of land has always been a messy affair in Bihar. In the 1990s, in undivided Bihar, there was a scam in which government land worth Rs 400 crore was sold in Ranchi. Even during the NDA regime in Bihar, there was an uproar over land allotment to sons and daughters of politicians and officials by Bihar Industrial Area Development Authority.
Land officials say the latest CBI revelation of selling off commercial land as agricultural land maybe the tip of an iceberg and needs a probe.
