Gujarat GST Officer Accused of Buying Entire Maharashtra Village and Environmental Violations; No Action Taken Yet

A Goods and Services Tax (GST) Commissioner in Gujarat has purchased a total of 620 acres of land, including an entire village in Maharashtra. The officer, identified as Chandrakant Walvi, is currently the GST Commissioner of Gujarat. Walvi has purchased about 620 acres of land in the entire village of Kandati Valley in the Satara district of Maharashtra. 

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GST Commissioner Chandrakant Walvi is a native of Nandurbar and is currently the Chief Commissioner of GST in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. His family and relatives have bought an entire village called Jhadni near Mahabaleshwar, Gujarat Samachar reported. Many have expressed surprise after it was revealed that Walvi had purchased 620 acres of land. According to the allegations made by RTI activist Sushant More, this GST official has told all the citizens of the village that their land will be acquired by the government for the project. 

It is also claimed that the land was purchased in violation of several important laws like Environment Protection Act 1986, Forest Protection Act 1976, Wildlife Protection Act 1972. Violations of these laws pose a serious threat to natural resources and the environment. The violations have serious consequences, including biodiversity loss, air and water pollution and climate change. 

On the other hand, it is also alleged that illegal constructions, digging, felling of trees, illegal roads, and power supply from forest areas are causing a lot of damage to the environment in the interior of this land. According to Sushant More, Walvi has built an illegal resort on 40 acres of land. More also alleged that the Walvi did not even pay those from whom the land was taken. "I was falsely informed that the land was purchased through the government", he stated. More also demanded an inquiry into how the land was dealt with.

Illegal constructions and large-scale mining have been going on in the area for the last three years, but surprisingly, not a single department of the administration has been able to detect it. On the other hand, Chandrakant Walvi has been accused of several offenses while working in Bhavnagar and Gandhinagar in the past. Walvi had earlier faced serious allegations of fake bills and illegal manipulation of tax credit figures.