The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned 1993-batch IAS officer Anurag Verma in connection with its money laundering investigation into alleged irregularities in change of land use (CLU) permissions and layout modifications linked to major real estate projects in Punjab. Verma is currently serving as Additional Chief Secretary (Revenue) and had earlier headed the state’s Housing and Urban Development Department. 
The agency has asked Verma to appear at its zonal office in Jalandhar on August 31. His statement is expected to be recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The ED is seeking information on project layout changes and decisions taken during his tenure, including those involving Suntec City and Altus Space Builder Pvt Ltd. 
Verma has said he received the summons and would provide the required records and facts to the agency. The ED is examining the process through which CLU permissions were granted, along with scrutiny of applications, verification procedures, compliance with Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act provisions and the role of officials in dealing with allegedly fraudulent consent letters. 
The case originated from a Punjab Police FIR based on complaints from farmers who alleged that their consent letters were forged to obtain CLU approvals. The ED subsequently took up the money laundering investigation. The agency conducted searches at several premises and lockers linked to the case in May and June and arrested real estate businessman Ajay Sehgal, who is associated with the Indian Cooperative House Building Society (ICHBS). 
The investigation has focused on the Suntec City project in Mullanpur, New Chandigarh. According to the ED, Sehgal allegedly submitted forged consent letters to obtain CLUs for 108.58 acres of agricultural land for residential and commercial development. The agency has alleged that these approvals were subsequently used to obtain a licence from the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) and register the project under RERA. 
The agency has also alleged that the project involved unauthorised layout modifications and other regulatory issues. Its investigation is looking into whether such changes were made to benefit private developers and whether officials followed the required procedures while granting or modifying approvals. The ED is also examining another project, Muirwoods Ecocity in New Chandigarh, where layout changes allegedly resulted in group housing sites being transferred to a private developer. 
The ED has estimated the alleged proceeds of crime in the case at around INR 348 crore. This includes about INR 212.58 crore from sales and INR 135.41 crore in unsold inventory, according to the agency's prosecution complaint. The ED has also alleged that certain units were sold before RERA registration and that possession was given to some landowners without the required completion certificate from GMADA. 
The agency has further alleged that the Suntec City project did not provide for a mandatory solid-waste management area when its building plan and CLU were approved. It is also examining a joint development agreement between ICHBS and VRS Township Pvt Ltd, now known as ABS Townships Pvt Ltd. According to the investigation, development and sale rights were transferred to ABS Township, whose directors included Sehgal’s brothers Sanjay Sehgal and Anil Sehgal. 
The ED has alleged that ABS Township later registered projects such as La Canela Phase 1 and District 7 with RERA and generated proceeds through residential unit sales in New Chandigarh. It has also alleged that units in La Canela Phase 2 were sold without RERA approval. Complaints regarding alleged forged consent letters had reportedly reached GMADA from 2020 onwards, according to the agency. 
The agency has also alleged that ABS Township received CLU approval for another 14.59 acres after an alteration to the previously approved layout. The ED is examining whether the changes and approvals complied with applicable RERA and planning requirements. 
During searches conducted in May and June, the ED said it recovered documents, digital devices and unaccounted cash of INR 30.98 lakh from locations in Mohali, Chandigarh and elsewhere. The agency also claimed that INR 21 lakh was recovered after allegedly being thrown from the ninth floor of Western Towers in Kharar by persons linked to the accused. 
Punjab IAS officer Kanwal Preet Brar is also being questioned in the case. He appeared before the ED last week and has been issued another summons to submit documents and respond to further questions. The agency is examining the role of officials involved in the approval, modification and implementation of decisions related to the projects. 
The ED had also filed a nearly 3,500-page prosecution complaint before a special PMLA court in Mohali in July. The investigation will now examine the records and decision-making behind the land-use approvals and layout changes, while Verma's appearance before the agency is expected to provide further information on the administrative process. 
Source PTI