JAIPUR – In a major crackdown on alleged administrative collusion and “land banking” within the Rajasthan State Industrial Development and Investment Corporation (RIICO), a multi-crore land scam has been thwarted following high-level interventions.
The case involves a massive industrial plot in the Khushkhera (Bhiwadi) industrial area, valued at approximately ₹140 crore, which was nearly handed back to a chronic defaulter through a controversial administrative maneuver.
The Allotment and the 30-Year Deadlock
The controversy centers on Plot Number SP-E2/2, a sprawling 69,130-square-meter land parcel. The plot was originally allotted in 1993 to M/s Thapar Concast Limited at the nominal rate of ₹20 per square meter. The primary condition of the allotment was the establishment of an industrial unit and the commencement of production—a promise that remained unfulfilled for over three decades.
Despite the lapse of thirty years, the land remained undeveloped. Investigative reports suggest that the company used a web of litigation and stay orders to maintain possession, effectively treating the government land as a private “land bank” while waiting for market prices to skyrocket to the current valuation of ₹140 crore.
The ‘Backdoor’ Relief Attempt
The scandal took a serious turn in May 2023 when RIICO finally cancelled the allotment and took back possession. However, sources allege that a syndicate within the department attempted to bypass rules to benefit the company. Under the guise of the “Amnesty Scheme-2023,” a special hearing was granted at the Chairman level to return the valuable land to the same defaulting firm, ignoring legal opinions and established norms.
Whistleblower Sparks RIICO Shake-up
The tide turned when Sanjeev Gupta, Coordinator of the advocacy group ‘Fight for Right,’ brought the matter to the attention of the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) and the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB). The ensuing public scrutiny and the heat of an impending investigation forced the RIICO management to backtrack.
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In a decisive order dated May 4, 2026, RIICO Chairman Shikhar Agarwal dismissed all representations made by Thapar Concast Ltd. The order explicitly stated that the company had been given sufficient time since 1993 but showed no genuine intent to establish an industry. The Chairman further ruled that the Amnesty Scheme was a time-bound initiative that had already lapsed and could not be used to grant “backdoor” liberties to chronic defaulters.
Questions of Accountability
While the land remains under government ownership for now, the episode has raised uncomfortable questions regarding the “bureaucratic shield” that protected the firm for 30 years.
- Systemic Failure: How did a private firm hold onto ₹140 crore worth of government land without any industrial output for three decades?
- The Amnesty Plot: Who were the officials who tried to manipulate the Amnesty Scheme to benefit a known defaulter?
- The Transparency Gap: Would this land have been quietly returned to private hands if the whistleblower had not intervened?
Legal experts and anti-corruption activists are now calling for a wider audit of RIICO allotments to determine how many other “land banking” cases are currently being shielded by the bureaucracy.
