Former Maharashtra revenue minister Eknath Khadse. (File Photo) Former Maharashtra revenue minister Eknath Khadse. (File Photo)

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders on Friday alleged that former revenue minister Eknath Khadse had shown undue favour towards city-based real estate tycoon Avinash Bhosale in a case regarding a piece of land in Shivajinagar. Preeti Sharma Menon, AAP national spokesperson, who was addressing a press conference in Pune, also said that Khadse’s decision cost the government Rs 1,000 crore in way of nazrana (government taxes).

Menon said the land in question (S No 132B Bhamburde Shivajinagar) was part of a larger land parcel forming Yeshwant Ghadgenagar Cooperative Housing Society Limited. The society, Menon said, was assigned for setting up a gazetted officers society and a Government Resolution (GR) in 1951 had set stringent conditions about sale and release of the same. “The GR had set the condition that prior government permission was to be taken before selling land. Also the government had the claim of 50 per cent of the profit in case of transfer of lease in way of nazrana,” she said.

Documents produced by AAP at the press meet showed that a sale deed was executed by Amit Avinash Bhosale, MD ABIL and others in 2012 for transfer of plot no 2 in the area. This sale deed was challenged in the court of the Additional Collector in 2014 by an NGO Bhrastachar Virodhi Gandhigiri Jan Anadolan on the grounds that it had not followed the letter and spirit of the GR of 1951, i.e. no nazrana was paid and no prior permission was taken before execution of the deed.

The then additional collector had subsequently filed an order in 2015 asking for a detailed investigation in the matter. The additional collector had noted that prima facie the sale deed had flouted the conditions set out in the GR of 1951. The matter was subsequently appealed before the revenue minister and Khadse heard the matter in March 2016.

Menon said the NGO had sent out pleas to the revenue minister asking him to make them a party in case of hearing, but Khadse had not done so. “Post the hearing the minister had dismissed the order of the additional collector and closed the door for calculation of the nazrana,” she said.

Demanding an immediate inquiry in the matter, she also called for setting up a commission to look into third party creation of interest in other plots in the area. A few days ago the NGO had filed a police case in the same matter.

When contacted, Khadse denied any wrongdoing in the matter. “The AAP is doing this to grab the limelight. In case they were serious about fighting corruption they should have filed a case with the police or approached the courts instead of going to the media,” he said.

Amit Bhosale also denied any illegality in the matter and said they would be filing a case of defamation against the AAP leaders. “Police have already submitted their investigation report on the said subject to the Honorable Court, so let us wait for the Court’s decision on the same. These allegations are absolutely baseless and we will be filing a defamation case against them,” he said.

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