Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has decided to cancel cheap allotment of government land, while keeping revenue minister Eknath Khadse in the dark.
Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has decided to cancel cheap allotment of government land, while keeping revenue minister Eknath Khadse in the dark. Mr Fadnavis confirmed telling officials to cancel the 1983 Government Resolution (GR) and introduce a new policy based on current rates. Meanwhile, Mr Khadse said he was not aware of the decision.
The chief minister’s announcement comes in the midst of raging controversy over government land being allotted to celebrities like Bollywood actor and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Lok Sabha MP Hema Malini at cheap rates. The CM stated that he has given orders to cancel the controversial 1983 GR, which is at the root of the controversy, and the department will put up a fresh Cabinet note before the next meeting of the state Cabinet. He further said that he has issued orders a couple of days ago. He did not elaborate on whether the decision will apply retrospectively as well. On his part, Mr Khadse, pleaded ignorance about any such decision. Sources in his office contended that no such decision has been taken.
The development comes days after the matter reached Bombay high court when former journalist Ketan Tirodkar filed a public interest litigation (PIL), seeking direction to the Mumbai police commissioner to file a case of cheating and forgery against Ms Malini and Mr Khadse on charges of illegally allotting land to the actor-MP for her dance academy at nominal price.
Last week, Mr Khadse issued a clarification stating that the government will first take back land allotted to Ms Malini at Versova in lieu of land allotment at Ambivali for her Natyavihar Kalakendra Charity Trust. He added that the revenue and forest department has been ordered to place reservation for garden on the plot of land being taken back from Ms Malini. He clarified that the land allotment is not a new one but is in the nature of alternate allotment.
Mumbai suburban district collector Shekhar Channe clarified that revenue officials are yet to evaluate the cost of land now allotted to the actor-MP. He was replying to a query over the land being given to her for just '70,000. He further confirmed that the order for land allotment to the trust at Ambivali has been issued, however the cost of that land is yet to be worked out.
Mr Khadse, in his statement last week, further clarified that the trust had applied for a plot of land in 1996 for the purpose of classical music, art, dance and other cultural purposes. In 2002, possession of land was secured by the trust by paying an advance of '10 lakh. A portion of the land allotted to the trust at Versova was under Coastal Regulatory Zone (CRZ) provisions and hence, the trust could not initiate any construction on the land.
The trust later applied for allotment of 5,000 square metres of land at Ambivali, of which, 29,360 square metres was reserved for the garden. The government allotted 2,000 square metres of the land to the trust on the condition that it develops a garden on the remaining portion of land reserved for the garden. Mr Khadse added that the urban development department held a public hearing over land allotment to the trust at Ambivali in 2010.
Meanwhile, reacting on the issue, Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) spokesperson Sachin Sawant said that though the decision to change reservation on the plot of land was taken during the previous Congress regime, the present BJP government could have reversed the previous government’s decision.
