The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday claimed that senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders Satyender Jain and Manish Sisodia regularly held unofficial meetings with Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) officials to discuss master plans, land acquisition and property auctions.Hours after concluding a nearly 50-hour search-and-surveillance operation at the GMADA office in Mohali, the ED claimed that crucial meetings concerning fresh auctions, land acquisition and compensation matters were conducted informally under Jain’s directions.AAP, however, dismissed the allegations as politically motivated, asserting that neither Jain nor Sisodia was involved in GMADA’s functioning. The party also questioned the legality of the ED action.In a statement, the agency alleged that instead of being processed through official meetings at GMADA headquarters in PUDA Bhawan, sensitive files were routinely taken to House No. 926, Sector 39, Chandigarh. The residence, officially allotted to AAP leader and Punjab Water Supply and Sewerage Board Chairman Jattvibeny Singh Ahluwalia, was allegedly used by Jain and his OSD Amarender Jha to influence GMADA affairs alongside senior officials.The ED further claimed that Jha operated from a room inside PUDA Bhawan despite holding no official position, acting as a conduit for conveying instructions and influencing policy decisions. The agency had searched his office on Wednesday and sought records relating to his appointment.The agency further alleged that administrative collusion and political interference had compromised GMADA’s functioning, enabling the manipulation of key decisions relating to land acquisition, master plan revisions and lucrative site auctions for private benefit, causing significant losses to the state exchequer. Senior bureaucrats and political functionaries bypassed established procedures and operated a parallel decision-making mechanism, it said.Officials questioned during the operation included Principal Secretary Vikas Garg, Chief Administrator Sandeep Rishi, former Chief Administrator Rajiv Gupta, Additional Chief Administrator Amarinder Malhi and Land Acquisition Collector Rohit Jindal. The probe also covers Kirti Sadhu Bas, director of Tila Consultancy Pvt Ltd, besides directors and promoters of Remigate Buildestate and Tirupati Infraprojects.Sources said the agency seized “substantial material” during the exercise and confiscated mobile phones of several senior officials. It is learnt that some of these devices had been under surveillance for weeks.The ED alleged that Jagmohan Garg and Manmohan Garg, promoters of Tirupati Infra Projects Pvt Ltd, were involved in several scams, including the NSEL scam and illegal waiver of statutory dues by Remigate Buildestates.While examining the role of land aggregator Tila Consultancy Ltd, controlled by Kirti Sadhu Bas and Archana Jha, the agency alleged irregularities in land acquisition awards and compensation payments under the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013. It claimed transfer deeds were executed despite restrictions under Section 11 notifications of the Act.The sources said the ED action followed nearly two months of surveillance targeting key housing department officials.Over two days, more than 100 ED officials examined hundreds of files relating to multiple decisions, including a Rs 57-crore waiver granted to Remigate Infra Developers Pvt Ltd, payment of Rs 191.16 crore as arranger fee to a Gujarat-based banker for raising Rs 15,000 crore, acquisition of land earmarked under the Mohali Master Plan, and waiver of penalties on defaulted GMADA allotments.The agency also seized records linked to reductions in reserve prices of residential and commercial plots. According to the ED, reserve prices for portions of GMADA’s unsold land bank were allegedly lowered before auction, causing losses of nearly Rs 10,000 crore to the authority and the state exchequer.“The ED officials had specific inputs collected over several weeks on the officials being quizzed. Before landing in Mohali, the agency appeared to have thoroughly studied the decisions under scanner,” said a GMADA official, adding that officers were subjected to sustained questioning and asked to name political and administrative authorities involved in the processing of files under investigation.No arrests were made during the operation. The agency is expected to examine the seized material further before deciding on the next course of action.In a statement, AAP accused the ED of conducting an “illegal raid” despite there being no FIR or predicate offence against GMADA. The party said the CBI FIR cited by the ED related to an alleged bank fraud involving Tirupati Infra Projects and had no connection with GMADA or Punjab.