Haryana 'godman' Rampal's ashram an illegal building

CHANDIGARH: Large portions of Rampal's sprawling 12-acre Satlok Ashram at Barwala in Hisar district were constructed illegally and without procuring the mandatory change of land use (CLU) certificate.

This violation got exposed when the local administration initiated proceedings against the preacher after the Punjab and Haryana HC remarked that the state government was in collusion with Rampal.

Sanjeev Kaushal, principal secretary to the Haryana CM, confirmed that portions of the ashram were illegally constructed. "The officials concerned are already on the job. Action will follow after we are through with the task of executing the court orders,'' he said.

Sources said that after moving to Barwala, Rampal began building temporary structures at the ashram. Documents accessed by TOI revealed that he started adding more floors in 2009 without procuring mandatory permissions.

The town and country planning department served notices on Rampal's trust asking it to procure CLU certification for these structures. The ashram is part of Barwala's revenue area, which was brought under "controlled area" regulations in February 2010 and CLU certificate is mandatory for any construction in here. According to the notice, Rampal kept adding floors to the building without permission.