HC allows Subhash Ghai to remove debris from the site, declines demand of Rs 90 lakh

CHANDIGARH: Bollywood producer-director, SubhashGhai, who was allotted 20 acre land near Badsha village of Jhajjar in Haryana for setting up a film institute failed to find any favour from the Punjab and Haryana high court, which on Friday refused to allow his demand of Rs 90 lakh from the village Panchayat occurred on the improvement of said the land.
HC, however, asked Ghai to reimburse his expenses by selling the debris/bricks after removing the boundary wall from the site within a period of one month.
On September 11, 2012, the HC had quashed the allotment of said land, which was purchased by Ghai's Mukta Arts from the village panchayat and directed him to hand over the land to village. In his petition, filed in November last year, Ghai had submitted before the HC that he had spent around Rs 90 lakhs on the construction of wall and improvement of land on the 20-acre land that was purchased by him in 2011.
Ghai added that since he has handed over the possession of said land to village Panchayat in pursuance of HC orders, the Panchayat is liable to return the expenses spent by him on its improvement.
Badhsa gram panchayat had sent a resolution to the Haryana government on January 6, 2010, to permit it to sell the 20-acre land to Mukta Arts. Thereafter, the state government allowed the panchayat to sell the land in September for Rs 8.02 crore, which included the land price and annuity.
Alleging that the Haryana government machinery connived with Ghaidespite the fact that the filmmaker wanted land for private purposes, a retired government teacher had moved the HC seeking directions to quash the allotment of said land.
He had contended that the decision to sell the village land to Mukta Arts from the village panchayat was taken under pressure and not by free will. It was also alleged that the land was sold to Ghaiin 2010 for public purpose but he had put it to private use. Finally, HC had quashed the allotment of said land.