Robert Vadra shuts down businesses in Rajasthan, Haryana in fear of BJP wrath

Just days after the new BJP government in Haryana announced that Robert Vadra’s land deals will be probed, the son-in-law of Congress president Sonia Gandhi has reportedly not only fast-tracked the process of winding down his businesses in both Rajasthan and Haryana but is also on a land selling spree in the two states, fearing stringent action and monitoring by the government.

The six companies Vadra closed are apparently agro-based and may be dealing with land transactions and agricultural technology, as the names suggest. None of these companies have filed annual returns or balance sheets since inception. Vadra holds the position of managing director in all six companies, reported DNA _._

According to a DNA report, which accessed documents provided by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Vadra, who launched six companies in Rajasthan and Haryana in 2012, has closed four of them- Lifeline Agrotech Private Limited, Greenwave Agro Private Limited, Rightline Agriculture Private Limited and Primetime Agro Private Limited.

The other two companies that are reportedly being shut down include agro-based firms Future Infra Agro Private Limited and Best Seasons Agro Private Limited, the report said, adding that all six companies were active till May this year before the Modi government came to power but none have e filed annual returns or balance sheets since inception.

It is alleged that the companies in which Vadra has stakes built a huge land bank of thousands of acres in Bikaner, Jodhpur and Barmer between 2009 and 2012. The then Ashok Gehlot government had announced sites for setting up solar power projects. It is also alleged as soon as the sites were announced, the land was sold at heavy prices by Vadra’s companies. ( Y ou can read all the details of how Vadra made a killing in Rajasthan here)

Meanwhile, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) had recently faulted Vadra, stating that he reaped nearly Rs 44 crore in windfall gains because the Congress government in Haryana allowed him to do so even if it meant breach of law.

It said that the first draft report on land deals in Haryana under the Bhupinder Singh Hooda government showed that Vadra’s Skylight Hospitality Private Limited was allowed to develop commercial colonies in Shikohpur, Gurgaon when it had just Rs 1 lakh in its account. The CAG report said that the department of Town and Country Planning ignored the aspect of the financial capacity of the colonizer. The same land was sold to DLF Universal for Rs 58 crore, with the Skylight Hospitality of Vadra making a profit of Rs 43.66 crore. ( Read more here )

What’s worse is that the Haryana government did not insist on recovering Rs 41.51 crore of the profit Vadra made by selling the land in question to DLF Universal.

As Firstpost reported earlier , “The draft CAG report pointed out that under the bilateral agreement between the Haryana government and Skylight Hospitality require Vadra’s company to keep only Rs 2.15 crore and pass on the rest of the money to the government account. Incidentally, Vadra’s company had spent Rs 14.3 crore, including Rs 7.5 crore for land purchase and Rs 6.84 crore on security and licence fees and conversion charges, so the rest of the 41.5 crore should have been accrued to the Haryana government’s account, which was not the case.

BJP had made Vadra’s land deals a major campaign issue in the recently held assembly elections in the state, alleging that the Haryana government had allowed the conversion of land in question to benefit chosen developers. The BJP had promised people that the matter would be investigated minutely once the party came to power and the guilty will be punished.