Taj corridor case

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

The Taj Heritage Corridor case is an alleged scam wherein 2002–2003, the then

Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Mayawati and a minister in her government, Nasimuddin Siddiqui, were charged with corruption. The Taj Corridor project was intended to upgrade tourist facilities near the Taj Mahal and was to be implemented during her tenure as Chief Minister. The then BJP government at the Centre gave the Environmental Clearance required for the project near Taj Mahal. However, later on the BJP backed out and then started saying that the project was not cleared by the Environment Ministry and blamed Mayawati for starting construction work near the Taj Mahal.[1]

Cost and funding

The total estimated cost of the project was Rs. 1.75 billion (US$44 million).[citation needed]

Political support

The project was started with the support of the BJP and interrupted when Mayawati

Rae Bareilly.[1]

Investigation

It has been alleged that Mayawati embezzled the money dedicated for this project. The case is currently under investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation. Initially, the case saw some rapid progress, when CBI conducted extensive searches on her various addresses, and claimed that though she had claimed income of only Rs. 11 million during her tenure as CM, her bank balance in a single bank went up to 25 million and total assets held by her were estimated at Rs. 150 million. At one point a warrant was expected for her arrest, but she was granted a stay.[2][3]

In September 2003 Ajay Agarwal, the former government counsel in the project, began accusing Mayawati of enriching herself from the Corridor project and also stated that Mayawati had recently acquired property both in her name and in the care of her relatives.[4]

However, since late 2003, investigations appear to have slowed down; there are speculations in the media about political interference, and the

H.L. Dattu and Ranjan Gogoi agreed to examine the case and asked the relevant parties to file their response.[10][11]

Disproportionate assets case

On 6 July 2012, a

FIR and all investigations conducted by the CBI in a Disproportionate assets case against Mayawati. The bench found irregularities in filing the case by CBI. Although the CBI decided not to appeal against this judgement,[12] a person named Kamlesh Verma appealed against the judgement through review petition which is currently pending.[13]

Project status

The project is now defunct, and plans are being made to remove the partial construction near the Taj Mahal site and replace it with a low tech forested greenbelt. The High Court of Allahabad has ruled in favour of a 45–500 million project but exactly who will foot the ASI bill remains to be clear.[citation needed]

References

  1. ^ a b c Bidwai, Praful (13–26 September 2003), "Big setback for the BJP", Frontline, 20 (19)
  2. ^ "HC stays Mayawati's arrest".
  3. ^ "Maya seeks stay on possible arrest".
  4. ^ Tripathi, Purima S. (13–26 September 2003), "The Uttar Pradesh Drama", Frontline, 20 (19)
  5. ^ Ghose, Bhaskar (12–25 March 2005), "A widespread disease", Frontline, 22 (8)
  6. ^ Kumar, Vinay (7 June 2007). "No element of corruption on Mayawati's part, says Uttar Pradesh Governor". The Hindu. Chennai, India. Archived from the original on 31 August 2007. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
  7. ^ "Taj case: Mayawati gets reprieve". NDTV. 10 October 2007. Retrieved 17 June 2012.
  8. ^ "Maya gets reprieve in Taj corridor case". Hindustan Times. HT Media. 10 October 2007. Archived from the original on 3 December 2010. Retrieved 17 June 2012.
  9. ^ Patni, Abhishek. "Wah Taj! Maya gets away scot-free\". CNN-IBN. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 26 July 2012.
  10. ^ "SC issues notice to Maya, CBI, Centre". Niti Central. 28 January 2013. Archived from the original on 29 January 2013. Retrieved 29 January 2013.
  11. ^ "Supreme Court reopens Taj corridor case against Mayawati". Economic Times. 28 January 2013. Retrieved 29 January 2013.
  12. ^ "CBI decides not to file review petition against Mayawati in disproportionate assets case". The Times of India. 1 August 2012. Archived from the original on 4 January 2013. Retrieved 13 September 2012.
  13. ^ "Plea in Supreme Court to re-open Mayawati's assets case". The Times of India. 5 August 2012. Archived from the original on 3 January 2013. Retrieved 13 September 2012.

External links