Congress alleges Rs 1,767 crore CIDCO land scam in Navi Mumbai, targets CM Devendra Fadnavis

Mumbai: The Congress party on Monday claimed that it had exposed a land scam worth nearly Rs 1,767 crore. The specific charge pertains to 24 acres of City and Industrial Development Corporation land in Navi Mumbai which was transferred for a song to a private builder by allegedly duping eight project-affected families of Koyna Dam.

The Congress has tried to hint at the indirect involvement of CM Devendra Fadnavis in the scam, since he is in-charge of the urban development portfolio. The allegations were made during a media address in Mumbai. Among those present were former CM Prithviraj Chavan, All-India Congress Committee chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala, Mumbai Congress President Sanjay Nirupam and AICC Convenor Priyanka Chaturvedi.

Mumbai Congress Committee President Sanjay Nirupam said, “Land of an estimated value of Rs 1,767 crore has been sold for a mere Rs 3.60 crore to a private developer (Paradise Builders) by duping gullible Koyna Dam project-affected families. CIDCO and the Urban Development Ministry turned a blind eye to this development and allowed the huge loss to the public exchequer.” Nirupam further spoke about the alleged nexus between Paradise Builder Manish Bhatija and BJP leader Prasad Lad, who in turn shares a close bond with the CM.

Countering Nirupam’s claim, BJP leader Prasad Lad, who will now be filing a Rs 500 crore defamation case against Nirupam, Chavan and Surjewala, dismissed the allegations as false and baseless. Speaking to The Free Press Journal, he said, “Sanjay Nirupam had admitted in front of media that he had no proof to substantiate the ties between me and the builder. Besides, it’s surprising to see how Chavan, who had been the Chief Minister of the State, could fall for such allegations made by a mindless person.”

Chavan clarified that the policy of allotment of land to project-affected persons of Koyna Dam is such that land has to be allotted for agricultural purposes. “This was an act of land-grabbing. We want to probe the illegality and get a judicial enquiry instituted into this scam,” he said.

Providing a timeline, Congress leaders mentioned how in February 2018, the Raigad Collector allotted 24 acres of CIDCO land in Navi Mumbai to eight project-affected families in the Koyna Hydroelectric Project. Meanwhile, Paradise builders entered into an agreement with the families to transfer the land for a mere Rs 15 lakh per acre. Despite a protest by locals, revenue officials surveyed the land on May 8. Soon, on May 14, the land survey, mutation and transfer of power of attorneys of all the eight allottees was done.

Mentioning the speed of approvals, AICC spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said, “How can a procedure of one year take place in one day? Does Paradise builders have special blessings of the CM who allowed them to secure such a ‘sweetheart deal’?” He dubbed CM Fadnavis as a ‘clean chit Chief Minister’ who promptly gives clean chits to his ministers (Tourism Minister Jaykumar Rawal, Industries Minister Subhash Desai and Labour Minister Sambhaji Nilangekar) who were facing graft charges in separate cases. “The entire transaction could not have taken place without the collusion of CIDCO and Urban Development Ministry, which is headed by Fadnavis,” he added. Congress Party leaders have now demanded an impartial judicial enquiry headed by a two-sitting judges of the Bombay High Court.