The Congress on Monday, 2 July, accused Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis of allowing a ‘land allotment scam’ under which a 24-acre plot of CIDCO land in New Mumbai, that cost Rs 1,767 crore, was sold to real estate developers Manish Bhatija and Sanjay Bhalerao for mere Rs 3 crore, duping poor displaced farmers of Koyna Irrigation Project in the process.
The allegations were made at a press conference held by Mumbai Congress Chief Sanjay Nirupam, former CM Prithviraj Chavan, and party spokespersons Randeep Surjewala and Priyanka Chaturvedi.
“A modus operandi was adopted to identify gullible oustee farmers of Koyna dam for the purpose of getting CIDCO land allotted and simultaneously get this land transferred to private developer,” Nirupam said, as quoted by The Week.
Nirupam alleged that the collector of Raigad district, without any authority to allot CIDCO notified lands, allotted 24 acres to families of eight affected farmers of Koyna irrigation project. He said that Bhatija’s Paradise Builders had already entered into an agreement with these farmers to sell the land at the rate of Rs 15 lakh per acre.
“CIDCO and Urban Development ministry (headed by CM Fadnavis) raised no objection to the allocation of notified land. This land had been reserved for Central Park, Phase II,” alleged Nirupam, as reported by The Week.
Nirupam also said that the two individuals in question are friends with Prasad Lad, a close aide of Fadnavis.
According to Maharashtra Times, the sale deed was executed by eight oustee families in favour of Paradise Builders and the power of attorney was given to Bhatija and Bhalerao the same day, a procedure that usually takes up to 18 months.
The Congress has demanded an impartial judicial enquiry headed by two sitting judges of the Bombay High Court for examining the alleged scam, especially the role of CIDCO and the state’s Urban Development ministry along with that of Fadnavis.
(With inputs from The Week and Maharashtra Times.)
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