Forum claims land misuse by Delhi Metro, DMRC refutes charge

A forum today raised a stink over alleged misuse of land by the Delhi Metro, which was vehemently denied by the corporation.
Jagdeep Rana, a confidante of sacked Delhi Minister Kapil Mishra, told a press conference that the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) leased out a prime piece of land in west Delhi to a property developer "circumventing rules".
"The land was provisionally given to the DMRC by the Delhi Development Authority to build a depot. The DMRC had not even registered its agreement with the developer and has not been paying any taxes to the government despite earning crores as revenue," Rana said.

Responding to the charges, the DMRC said the property development activity in the said case has been dealt as per prevalent rules and regulations.
"The DMRC strongly denies the allegations on the above subject as the land has been taken over formally from the duly authorised agency with full authority for utilisation of the land for property development which is an activity necessitated as per government directives.
"The necessary 'No Objection' certificates from the concerned authorities have been obtained by DMRC including DDA. It may also be mentioned that a transparent process of bidding was adopted while fixing up the agency which has developed and is operating the mall at the said premises," it said.