UP's Yamuna Expressway Authority paid for land unavailable on record: CAG report

Uttar Pradesh government's Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) had purchased a land parcel in Gautam Buddh Nagar in 2015 but not verifying land records led to a loss of Rs 2.71 crore, a CAG report has revealed.

Further, the YEIDA also incurred an expenditure of Rs 0.10 crore as stamp duty on purchase of the land against an area not available in records, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG)'s compliance audit report for the year ended March 2020 revealed.

The report, tabled recently in the UP assembly and accessed by PTI, states that the UP Power Transmission Corporation Limited had requested (June 2012) YEIDA to allot 75 acre (30.3514 hectare) land in village Jahangirpur in Gautam Buddh Nagar near the Yamuna Expressway for the construction of 765 KV sub-station.

A proposal for acquisition of land for sub-station was initiated (September 2012) by YEIDA officials which was approved the same month by its then chief executive officer (CEO).

The YEIDA executed (December 2012 to December 2015) 159 sale deeds for the purchase of 54.365 hectare land spread over 150 khasras, it noted.

"The Audit noticed (March 2019) that out of 150 khasras of revenue records, the actual area in 17 khasras was 6.3990 hectares. The YEIDA, however, overlooked the area actually available in land records or verification reports submitted by the District Authority, and purchased an area measuring 7.98935 hectares through executing sale deeds relating to aforesaid 17 khasras," the CAG report noted.

"This has resulted in payment against 1.59035 hectare land which was not actually available in respective khasras or verification reports. The YEIDA paid Rs 13.60 crore as compensation, annuity and additional compensation for purchase of 7.98935 hectares of land. Consequently, due to not reconciling purchased land with land records/verification reports, the YEIDA suffered a loss of Rs 2.71 crore on purchase of 1.59035 hectare land," the report said.

"Further, the YEIDA also incurred an expenditure of Rs 0.10 crore as stamp duty on the purchase of land against an area not available in records," it stated.

The CAG report mentioned that in its reply, the YEIDA accepted (July 2021) that there was a difference of 1.5935 hectare between area mentioned in the 17 sale deeds and revenue records.

Further, it stated that the purchase of land was done on the basis of land records made available by the District Authority, according to the report.

However, the CAG said the reply that the purchase was done on the basis of land records made available by the District Authority is not acceptable as the land mentioned in verification reports of the District Authority was less than the area against which payment was made.

Hence, the YEIDA is fully responsible for purchasing unavailable land due to not exercising due diligence by its officials of the Land Department, the auditor stated.