CHANDIGARH / JALANDHAR — The Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) ongoing investigation into a massive real estate and land reclassification scandal in Punjab has sent shockwaves through the state’s political corridors, bureaucracy, and real estate sector. According to highly placed sources, the scope of the investigation is rapidly expanding following recent high-profile raids, with direct links now emerging to the money laundering case involving Punjab Cabinet Minister Sanjeev Arora.
The investigation—which spans high-value land deals in New Chandigarh, deliberate manipulations of the state’s Master Plan, and the notorious ₹150-crore Suntec City fraud—has begun closing in on top-ranking administrative officials and influential power brokers.
Top Bureaucrats and Investors Under the Scanner
In a major escalation, the Jalandhar unit of the central agency has officially summoned Sandeep Kumar, the Chief Administrator of the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA). Simultaneously, Basant Garg, a 2005-batch IAS officer and current Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Powercom, has been directed to appear at the ED headquarters in New Delhi on Monday.
The investigative dragnet has also extended to other key figures, including:
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Harsharan Kaur Trehan, Commercial Director of PPCL.
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Hemant Sood, a prominent Ludhiana-based financial investor.
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Several influential businessmen operating out of Jalandhar.
Master Plan Manipulations and Treasury Loss
Sources reveal that the ED is zeroing in on specific development projects within New Chandigarh, most notably Eco City-3, the designated Commercial Corridor, and various low-density housing schemes.
Allegations suggest a deeply entrenched nexus wherein the city’s Master Plan was heavily manipulated to reclassify strategic land parcels from ‘Mixed Land Use’ to ‘Residential’ categories. This unauthorized shifting of land zoning laws reportedly benefited a select group of favoured private builders while inflicting massive financial losses on the state exchequer.
To gather airtight evidence, ED teams recently visited the Sub-Registrar offices in both Majri and Ludhiana. Officials scrutinized extensive government records, focusing on property registrations, land mutations, sale agreements, and Change of Land Use (CLU) permissions.
The ₹150-Crore Suntec City Fraud
A core component of the ongoing probe revolves around records seized from projects developed by Suntec City and Altus Space Builders.
In the ₹150-crore Suntec City scam, promoters allegedly resorted to blatant forgery, fabricating consent letters by faking the signatures and thumb impressions of 15 innocent landowners. Armed with these fraudulent documents, the developers successfully secured crucial Change of Land Use (CLU) clearances from administrative bodies, using them to illicitly collect crores of rupees from unsuspecting investors.
Political Speculation Intensifies
As the layers of the scam unravel, political discussions across Punjab have reached a fever pitch. Alongside Cabinet Minister Sanjeev Arora, the name of another prominent political figure, Aman Arora, has also become a subject of intense speculation within political circles.
While central investigative agencies have not yet released an official statement confirming new high-profile involvements, the relentless wave of interrogations, summons, and raids makes it clear that more powerful names are likely to be brought under the scanner in the coming days.
The unfolding investigation leaves Punjab with a critical question: will this probe finally dismantle the deep-rooted builder-bureaucrat-politician nexus in the state, or will the accountability stop at a few select officials?
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