Ghaziabad, March 11 : The prestigious Institute of Management Technology (IMT) stands on misused land, two members of Ghaziabad civic bodies claimed on Monday.
The institution has denied the allegations.
In a joint press conference here, Municipal Councillor and RTI activist Rajendra Tyagi and Ghaziabad Development Authority board member Himanshu Mittal alleged the Lajpat Rai Educational College Society, which was allotted 54,049 square yards at a throw-away price of Rs 96,606 in 1968, used the land for a different purpose that what it had applied for.
The land was allotted for running a degree college for humanity and art subjects which was already in existence in Sahibabad, but Society chairman Mahendra Nath established a purely commercial institute which was against rules for subsidized land, they said.
Mahendra Nath, now dead, was the father of senior Congress leader and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath.
Tyagi and Mittal also alleged that in order to cover up, the society incorporated a new name in 1993 but said that this was not permitted.
The entire process of new allotment is needed with change of rates, which differ for a college to teach humanity suspects and a management institute.
But due to influence of "high political powers", the GDA could not muster courage and regularized the allotment, they alleged.
They also said issues of corruption surfaced as, according to the RTI reply they got, 10, 481 square yards in middle of the total 54,049 square yards the institute got was disputed and its cost was not added in litigation costs.
This means that the IMT is using this land free of cost, said Tyagi.
GDA's Chief Architect (and) Town Planner Ishtiyak Ahmad also said that discrepancies were found in the land allotted to the IMT when a team verified it physically.
The IMT, however, denied the allegations.
"We have all the legal papers with us. Our building plan is approved by the GDA... other micro-level irregularities, if any found, will be rectified if get any intimation from the authority," IMT Director Akash.
K Bhattacharya said when approached to respond the allegations.
--IANS
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Source: IANS
