Rajasthan Government Forms Committee for Single Lease Investigation

In Jaipur, the Rajasthan state government has established a new committee to impartially investigate cases related to single leases. This committee, formed under the direction of Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma, is chaired by former judge R.S. Rathore. It includes the Additional Chief Secretary of the Home Department and the Principal Secretary of the Urban Development and Housing Department. This move follows controversy surrounding a previous committee, which was criticized for its potential bias due to the inclusion of officials from the former UDH Minister’s office.
The new committee comes after the government recently exonerated Congress MLA Shanti Dhariwal and three other officials in a high-profile single lease case. The case dates back to 2011 when the Jaipur Development Authority issued a single lease to Shailendra Garg, proprietor of Ganapati Construction. Complaints of corruption led to arrests and legal battles, but the Gehlot government presented closure reports in court, dismissing the charges. Despite these closures, an RTI activist’s appeal in the Supreme Court argued that the case couldn’t be closed merely based on the complainant’s consent. The state government’s latest response to the Supreme Court maintains that no wrongdoing occurred, but a new committee will re-examine the issue.