ED raids GMADA office for second day; land deals, CLU approvals and Rs 100 crore dues waiver under scanner

PTC Web Desk:  The Enforcement Directorate (ED) continued its search and seizure operation at the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) office for the second consecutive day on Wednesday, with investigators examining alleged irregularities linked to land acquisition, change of land use (CLU) approvals and financial concessions.

According to a report published in The Tribune, the ED is also looking into the role of Tila Consultants and Contractors Pvt Ltd, a land aggregator associated with GMADA. The company, owned by Kirti Sadhu Bas, provides consultancy services to several state and Central government agencies.

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As per the report, investigators are reportedly examining records related to landowners whose properties were recently acquired by GMADA in New Chandigarh and Mohali. The agency is also looking into whether private real estate developers benefited from alleged irregularities in land acquisition and CLU-related approvals.

The search operation at the GMADA office reportedly involves more than 100 ED officials. Junior employees were allowed to leave late Tuesday night, while several senior officials remained at the office during the operation.

Another company under scrutiny is Tirupati Infraprojects, which has earlier faced investigations and raids by both the ED and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

Sources said the agency is examining the financial dealings of companies linked to Tirupati Infraprojects, including Remigate Buildestates (India) Pvt Ltd and MB Infrabuild Pvt Ltd. These companies had acquired two sites in Mohali and later received financial concessions from GMADA reportedly running into crores of rupees.

The ED operation began on Tuesday, when teams accompanied by CRPF personnel reached the GMADA office. At least three floors of the building were reportedly sealed, including the chamber of the Chief Engineer. Mobile phones belonging to senior officials and computers from the office were also taken into custody.

Several senior GMADA officials were questioned by the agency, including Secretary Housing Vikas Garg, Chief Administrator Sandeep Rishi, Land Acquisition Collector Rohit Jindal, Estate Officer Aman Gupta, Additional Chief Administrator Amarinder Singh Malhi, Additional Chief Administrator (Finance) Rakesh Popli and Chief Engineer Ajay Garg.

Sources said the officials were initially questioned together before being taken to their respective offices for further questioning. The agency also reportedly examined chat records from the mobile phones of some officials.

The ED's wider operation covered 27 locations across Delhi, Mohali, Chandigarh, Panchkula and Ludhiana.

One of the major issues being examined is an alleged waiver of more than Rs 100 crore in dues involving Remigate, which is developing a food court on a 1.3-acre plot in Mohali.

The waiver was reportedly approved during GMADA's 34th meeting in 2025, which was chaired by then Chief Secretary KAP Sinha. According to the report, the then GMADA Chief Engineer had argued that a demand of around Rs 40 crore towards non-construction charges was not justified because the site was not free from encumbrances.

The investigation is ongoing and the ED's findings and any further action will depend on the records and evidence examined during the searches.