Chandigarh: Former Haryana CM Bhupendra Singh Hooda is being tightened with ED screws. The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday seized more than a dozen industrial plots worth Rs 30.34 crore, acting on close associates of former CM Hooda. The investigating agency issued temporary orders for confiscation of 14 plots allotted at Panchkula under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). ED had questioned Hooda in Chandigarh some time ago and recorded his statements.

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The ED said the industrial plot was fraudulently allotted to associates close to the then Chief Minister Bhupendra Singh Hooda, who was then ex-officio chairman of the Haryana Urban Development Authority. He said, "Since the fraudulent plot is a criminal act, they have been temporarily confiscated under the PMLA. Investigations have revealed that plots for allotment were available in the Haryana Urban Development Authority (Huda) in 2011."

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It said, "The price of allocation was kept much lower than the market rate. At that time, the collector rate was four-five times more than the rate fixed for allocation. It said that the Punjab and Haryana High Court had directed the Haryana government to set fair and transparent standards for such allocations. The standards of allotment were changed 18 days after the expiry of the last date of application and the data of all applicants was with HUDA," the ED alleged.

Some norms were changed in favor of pre-selected applicants by enhancing the powers of the Interview Committee. In Haryana, Assembly elections are scheduled to be held in the next few months. The ED's grip on the hood is an injury to his political prospects.

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