ED Raids Punjab Development Authority Office in Mohali Over Land Deals

The Enforcement Directorate conducted raids at the Punjab government's Greater Mohali Area Development Authority headquarters in Mohali, lasting for more than 50 hours from Tuesday through Thursday night. The agency questioned eight senior officials, cloned their mobile phones, and seized electronic devices and documents as part of money-laundering investigations linked to Tirupati Infra Projects. The probe has brought GMADA land deals, potential losses of several thousand crore rupees, and alleged involvement of Aam Aadmi Party leaders under central agency scanner. The ED approached multiple locations including Delhi, Mohali, Chandigarh, Panchkula, and Ludhiana.

Official Response and Court Action

The ruling AAP rejected the allegations as baseless and politically motivated, accusing the BJP-led Centre of using agencies against the Bhagwant Mann-led government ahead of state Assembly elections due in February 2027. The Punjab government approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court alleging illegal detention of its officials, and the court appointed a warrant officer to check the GMADA premises. However, the officials told the warrant officer they had not been illegally detained or pressured. Last month, AAP MP Malvinder Singh Kang had also described GMADA as a den of corruption and demanded transfer of long-serving officials.

Allegations and Financial Scrutiny

The biggest allegation concerns unsold land where the ED claims reserve prices were deliberately reduced before auctions, resulting in an estimated potential loss of nearly Rs 10,000 crore to GMADA and the Punjab government. The agency also alleged irregularities in land acquisition awards, compensation, reallotment of cancelled plots, and concessions to private developers such as Remigate Infra Developers, which allegedly benefited by Rs 40 crore to Rs 57 crore through waived statutory dues and penal interest. Recovered mobile phone material also allegedly contained hawala transactions involving relatives of some Punjab politicians.

Involvement of Delhi Leaders

The ED alleged that former Delhi ministers Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain held regular unofficial meetings with GMADA officials regarding master plans, site auctions, and land acquisition. The agency claimed officials carried files from PUDA Bhawan in Mohali to Jain and his OSD Amarender Jha at a government bungalow in Sector 39, Chandigarh, officially allotted to Punjab Water Supply and Sewerage Board chairman Sunny Singh Ahluwalia. The AAP dismissed these claims as completely false, stating neither leader has any role in GMADA's functioning.

Political Reactions

Opposition leaders reacted sharply to the developments. BJP leader and former Union minister Ravneet Singh Bittu stated that the ED action proved the Bhagwant Mann government's claims are limited to advertisements. Congress Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa demanded answers from Chief Minister Mann over who fixed reserve prices and benefited from the potential loss, while SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal demanded investigation into every file. The AAP questioned the basis of the action, maintaining there was no FIR or predicate offence against GMADA.