Would like more favours for Haryana villages: Justice Dhingra

Justice (retd) S.N. Dhingra, who sought an extension of six weeks to submit his commission's report on controversial land deals in Gurgaon district, on Friday cleared the air on the allegation of him having taken "favours" from Haryana government, saying he was ready to take more such favours if it benefits villages of the state.

The Congress on Thursday alleged that the inquiry into controversial land deals in Haryana, including those involving Congress President Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law Robert Vadra, had become vitiated because Justice Dhingra, who headed the panel, took "favours" from the BJP-ruled state government.

"If villages are getting benefitted because of my running an organization and if you say that is a favour to me, then it is good. I take it as a compliment," Justice Dhingra told a news channel.

"I don't have a school. I am the chairman of Justice Gopal Singh Public Charitable Trust. This trust is running two dispensaries, one in Gurgaon and one in Delhi. We also run a senior citizenship medical health programme," he added.

The Congress has accused Justice Dhingra of taking favours from the BJP government in Haryana and demanded he should either recuse himself or the government should disband the panel since he had "compromised his position".

Justifying his stand, Dhingra clarified that an individual in Gurgaon, who was undergoing treatment at the dispensary, wanted to donate 2,200 square yards of his land to the village.

"He wanted our help. He said he'll donate his land. His name is Harish Chakravarty. After he donated the land about six or eight months back, we completed the construction work," said Dhingra.

He said a survey was done in the villages and a demand for a skilled centre for women came up.

"We then contacted one NGO for the survey and also contacted Rotary Club. They had a tie-up with Singer machine. Both Singer Machine and Rotary Club agreed to give us 24 machines on payment of Rs 1 lakh. We also wanted to have a playschool for the children," said Dhingra.

Dhingra said he has urged the Gurgaon Deputy Commissioner to release some funds for the construction of roads in the villages.

"I requested him that why doesn't he use the funds for the village roads so that people could commute at ease. This was agreed upon and it was the favour that had been done to me. If this is an allegation, I accept it. If this is a favour, I would like to have 20 such favours in all villages of Haryana," said Dhingra.

Asked why he needed an extension to submit his commission's report, Dhingra said: "Sometimes some pieces of information are quite important. You can't ignore them."

He also said that the nature of the report would deal with 'benami' transactions.

"These are sale deeds and details of certain sale transactions, and it is stated that these are benami transactions. They benefitted those who were involved in giving licenses. I thought of going through them. I scrutinized them and found that it was necessary to go in detail. That's why I asked for more time. I sought about 6-8 weeks," Dhingra added.

Asked if Robert Vadra's company Skylight Hospitality's name figured in the report, Dhingra said: "They are not pertaining directly to any of the companies. It is benami transactions."

"I think if you wait for the report, you'll come to know as to what the commission has done. I am not chasing Vadra, you people are chasing him. I have mentioned names of all those persons who have benefited," he replied.

--IANS

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