The state unit of CPI(M) today alleged a benami land deal of about 200 acres in the outskirts of Shimla and demanded a CBI probe into more such deals.

The state secretariat members Tikender Singh Panwar, Omkar Shad and Sanjay Chauhan alleged that about 200 acres of land in Mohal and Patwar circle Rampur Keonthal had allegedly been sold on General Power of Attorney (GPA) by various individuals which was violation of section 118 of Tenancy and Land reforms Act and amounted to "benami deals".

They alleged that several GPAs were made in the name of one single individual vide a large number of registration numbers by dozen of persons and nearly 100 GPAs of similar nature were made in the name of one individual for nearly 1000 bighas.

Nearly 90 percent of the GPAs were made in Shimla and the rest in Kandaghat.

Asserting that a CBI enquiry alone could nail the truth and expose the benami deals, the CPI(M) leaders claimed that the value of land was about Rs 800 crore but the same had been sold for just Rs 20 crore which was a glaring case of evasion of stamp duty, causing huge loss to the government.

"The payments have been made through banks and very little has been paid through cash and it would not be difficult to detect the source of money from where the owners had been paid the price," they added.

The CPI(M) has asked the ministry of urban development that has been identifying land to construct houses to initiate efforts to acquire this land and develop a housing project at the site which has capacity to accommodate over 25,000 houses.