Shimla, October 11: Himachal Pradesh unit of Congress on Wednesday said the permission given by P K Dhumal government to purchase tea gardens to an educational society linked to activist Prashant Bhushan be scrapped as it allegedly violated the law.
PCC General Secretary Sudhir Sharma charged that the permission for purchase of tea garden to Kumud Bhushan Educational Society at Kandbari in Palampur in relaxation of section 118 of Tenancy and Land Reforms Act was in gross violation of rules and demanded the transaction be set aside.
The BJP government in the state had allowed the sale of over 1000 canal of land under tea gardens in the past three years in “gross violation” of the rules, Sharma alleged.
Despite a complete ban on the sale of tea gardens, the state government was liberally allowing outsiders and others to buy tea gardens in the valley for non-tea cultivation use merely on political considerations and in a few cases, the matter is already under judicial scrutiny, he charged in a statement here.
Sharma alleged Kumud Bhushan Educational Society was linked to Prashant Bhushan.
Claiming that Palampur police have booked 22 persons in connection with an alleged illegal sale deed of a tea garden in 2002 in the Gopalpur area of Kangra district, Sharma said various social organizations like Palampur Citizen Council, Palampur Welfare and Environment Protection Forum, Palampur Bachao Samiti and Save Palampur have flayed the policy of the government.
