Landgrab: NGOs under scanner in Uttarakhand

With a series of alleged land scandals rocking Uttarakhand, complaints are now mounting against scores of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) which have allegedly grabbed vast lands in Uttarakhand.

Faced with mounting pressure to blacklist all those NGOs which failed to meet the objectives, the government ordered an inquiry into yet another alleged scandal in Pithoragarh district where the Leprosy Mission Trust of India and a social organisation Mission the Leprosy have allegedly sold the prime land meant for building a leprosy home to private developers in the village Chandak.

“We are conducting an inquiry to ascertain the facts regarding the sale of prime government land at Pithoragarh which was given to the NGO for building a leprosy home,” Parliamentary Affairs Minister Prakash Pant said.

The inquiry came after the issue came up in the Vidhan Sabha where Congress member Maiukh Mehar allegedly said the NGO was selling land to private developers in gross violation of the rules and norms.

Agreeing to Mehar, Pant admitted the NGO has not been able to complete the task of building home for lepers. But this particular case is not an isolated one in the hill state where hundreds of NGOs have been working merely on papers. According to an estimate, the government continues to receive umpteen complaints regarding all those organisations which were floated only to grab the land.

“We have received scores of complaints from Kotdwar, Rishikesh, Haridwar, Uttarkashi and Chamoli districts,” a government official said.

“When an NGO tries to grab land in the name of social cause, it creates bad name for the whole NGO sector,” said Chipko movement leader Sunderlal Bahuguna, a recipient of Padma Vibhushan. He also demanded action against all those erring NGOs which have grabbed the government land in the name of social work.

“We have started taking action. In due course, more such actions will follow,” said Pant.