The stage is set for the construction of the world’s third-largest cricket stadium in the Pink City as the Jaipur Development Authority has allotted land to the Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA). But considering the list of scams the Gehlot government is involved in, the construction of the cricket stadium seems like a vague dream.
Ashok Gehlot’s government has handed over land lease to the Chief Minister’s son Vaibhav Gehlot for the construction of a new cricket stadium. RCA commissioner Gaurav Goel gave the papers of the allotted land. This new stadium is supposed to be built at Chonp on Delhi Road.
While being the president of the Rajasthan Cricket Association, Lalit Modi had dreamed of building this stadium. Now Vaibhav Gehlot, son of Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, is going to fulfil the dream of the state’s cricket stadium after becoming the president of Rajasthan Cricket Association. It would not be wrong to say that another scam has also been started. Be it the vaccine scam or the oxygen concentrator scam, the Gehlot government is well known for its scams.
After taking the lease of the land in the Jaipur Development Authority office, Vaibhav Gehlot said that the formal letter of the grant from the BCCI has been received. The board will get Rs 100 crore for the stadium. About Rs 650 crore will be spent. The first phase will cost around 400 crores. Along with this, there is talk of taking about 100 crores from banks. Rs 90 crore will be deposited through the corporate box.
It is known that RCA was banned by BCCI from the year 2014 and it was removed in the month of September 2019. the BCCI banned the association after the election of former IPL commissioner Lalit Modi as the president of RCA, stopping any kind of grant. Lalit Modi was already banned by BCCI in IPL scams and thus RCA had to bear the brunt of BCCI. CP Joshi was elected president of RCA in elections after 3 years. Since then, RCA has been trying to lift the ban. After the removal of the ban, when elections were held in RCA, Ashok Gehlot’s son Vaibhav got the chairman’s chair.
GS Sandhu, a retired IAS officer, an advisor to the Rajasthan Cricket Association led by Vaibhav Gehlot, son of Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, is also facing corruption charges in an alleged land scam. When the BJP government was in Rajasthan, GS Sandhu was accused of a land scam and in 2016 a charge sheet was also filed against him. Sandhu was charged in the 2016 charge sheet under sections 409, 420 and 120B of the IPC as well as relevant sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 as reported by Aajtak.
At the same time, a year ago, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had issued summons to Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot’s son Vaibhav Gehlot for questioning in connection with the fertilizer scam that took place between 2007 and 2009. In this case, when ED raided the premises of hoteliers Ratankant Sharma and Dharmendra Rathod, many documents and inquiries revealed that Ratankant Sharma was Vaibhav Gehlot’s business partner. Both were directors of Sun Light Car Rental Service.
As the Gehlot government has given land to RCA under the leadership of his own son for this stadium to be built at a very huge amount of 650 crores. Analysing on the basis of the long list of historical evidence of scams, we can only wait and witness whether the stadium is built or only the air talks remain.