Mumbai: The opposition on Thursday created a ruckus in the State Assembly over the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) land scam allegations saying the Chief Minister (CM) Devendra Fadnavis was protecting the Bharatiya Janata Party leader. The CM thereafter announced a judicial inquiry into the alleged land allotment to Koyana Project Affected People (PAPs) in Navi Mumbai.
Fadnavis also denied allegations of favouring a builder who had purchased this land meant for PAPs of Koyna. He went on to allege there are 200 similar cases in which members of opposition parties, mainly from Congress cases in which land for PAPs was sold out to builders. And he threatened to initiate inquiry into these too.
In a reply to the former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan who targeted Fadnavis in the Assembly raised the CIDCO land scam issue by placing motion of adjournment, on which a discussion was allowed by the speaker Haribhau Bagde. During the discussion, Fadnavis in a dramatic manner flashed a few files in the face of Congress- Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leaders alleging, there have been over 200 similar cases of allotment of land worth Rs 50,000 crore to PAPs which were cleared by their government. He pointedly stated, most were passed during the tenure of Chavan as CM.
Fadnavis was replying to the allegations made by the opposition leader Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil on Thursday in Assembly at Nagpur. He raised the land allotment issue and demanded the resignation of Fadnavis. Vikhe Patil also demanded a judicial inquiry into the CIDCO scam.
Fadnavis in his clarification informed the house members, only additional collector has the right to allot land to PAPs. “This decision has nothing to do with a chief minister or chief minister’s office or even revenue minister. The process of land allotment to PAPs in Navi Mumbai is as per the same rules and was completed with due procedure as the Congress-NCP government followed. Prithviraj Chavan was the CM at that time. People who were given free land had sold it to developers soon. There are no restrictions over PAPs selling the land,” said Fadnavis.
Fadnavis further stated, there are over 200 cases in which land worth Rs 50,000 crores was allotted to PAPs and they sold it to developers. “PAPs have right to sell the land which is not violation of rules,” Fadnavis clarified. After which, there was pandemonium in the house as the ruling party leaders and CM demanded the resignation of Opposition leader who made allegations against Fadnavis. The CM gave the call demanding the resignation, which was even called by the speaker, leading to an adjournment of proceedings for the remaining day.
Vikhe-Patil alleged that 14 acre of land of an estimated value of Rs 1767 crore to a builder at throwaway price of Rs 3.5 crore by duping Koyna-Dam project affected people.