New Delhi [India], August 19 (ANI): Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday flagging an alleged Rs 50,000 crore land scam in Maharashtra’s Raigad, claiming that around 4,078 acres of forest land was illegally transferred to the Bivalkar family by the City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra (CIDCO).
UBT’s Raut has alleged collusion between the state government’s revenue, Urban development department, CIDCO officials and ministers to provide this parcel of land to the family. Raut also held the Union Minister Amit Shah, the state’s CIDCO Chairman Sanjay Shirsat, and Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde responsible for the alleged scam.
“This scam, executed through the collusion of the Revenue department, Urban development department, CIDCO officials, and minister, has defrauded both the government and the public. As you are ultimately responsible for this, I am addressing this letter to you,” Raut wrote in a letter addressed to Shah, which was posted on X.
“I demand, on behalf of the project-affected people of Raigad district, that SHinde and Shirsat be sacked from cabinet and that a case be registered regarding this Rs 50,000 crore land scam, with an investigation conducted by the Enforcement Directorate (ED),” he added.
He further took a jibe at the Union HM for backtracking on their promise of rooting out corruption, alleging that investigative agencies are shielding corruption instead.
Raut, in the letter to Shah mentioned that both Shinde and Shirsat have allegedly pocketed Rs 20,000 crore, and have also implied giving Rs 10,000 crore to the Union Home Minister.
Calling Shah as the “head of Shinde’s party,” Raut wrote, “In Maharashtra, the Urban Development Department and CIDCO have been involved in a Rs 50,000 crore land scam, where urban development minister Eknath Shinde and former CIDCO Chairman Sanjay Shirsat have allegedly pocketed at least Rs 20,000 crore. It is openly claimed that Rs 10,000 crore of this amount was paid to the “bosses” in Delhi, with the implication pointing towards you…”
Giving details of the alleged scam, the Shiv Sena (UBT) leader said that Sanjay Shirsat was “hurriedly” appointed as the CIDCO chairman to facilitate the land transfer through CIDCO’s 12.5 per cent land allocation scheme.
“The Biwalkar family, ineligible for 30 years, was arbitrarily deemed eligible by the Urban Development minister and CIDCO chairman,” Raut’s letter read.
The Bivalkar family, in 1936, was given 4,078 acres of land as ‘saranjam inam.’ The family had given the land to the forest department with a 90-year lease agreement, with the land being notified as private forest later on.
In 1987, the nearly 4,078 acres of land was allotted back to the family according to a notification, after which the family had demanded compensation under CIDCO’s “12.5 per cent compensation scheme”, a compensation plan offered by the authority to the people whose land have been acquired for development projects. In 2015 the Bombay High Court had ordered the return of the land parcel to the family. CIDCO challenged the ruling in Supreme Court, who put a stay on the order.
However, in a meeting held a few months ago, directives were issued to give the 12.5 per cent of land back to the Bivalkar family.
The UBT leader, decried the alleged denial of the 12.5 per cent scheme to others, with thousands of people being denied compensation.
“Even today, thousands of project affected people (PAP) in the region remain deprived of land under CIDCO’s allocation scheme. CIDCO officials shamelessly claim there is no land available for poor and marginalised projected affected families. Yet, ashtonishingly no such obstacle arose when allocating Rs 50,000 crore worth of land to the Biwalkar family alone,” Raut’s letter to Shah added.
Holding Shah responsible for contributing to the “destruction of state’s development,” the UBT leader called for state ministers Eknath Shinde and Sanjay Shirsat to be removed from their posts and register a case against them. (ANI)
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