Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Vinayak Raut on Thursday claimed that there were irregularities in purchase of 5,000 acres by an Adani Group company in Konkan region. Raut, who represents Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg Lok Sabha constituency, has appealed to chief minister Eknath Shinde to look into the matter.About 5,000 acres of land at 20 villages in Ratnagiri district’s Sangameshwar tehsil were bought and sold by brokers. They all were working for Adani Transmission Limited (ATL),” he said at a press conference at Shiv Sena Bhavan.
Giving an example, Raut said Raipur-Rajnandgaon Warora Transmission Limited (RRWTL), which belongs to Adani Transmission, used 284.27 hectares of forest land for an electricity transmission project in Vidarbha.“As per the rule, it had to make forest land available elsewhere to compensate the loss to the environment. However, the company showed non-forest land in two villages of Sangameshwar tehsil as forest land,” he alleged.The company also did not purchase all the land from villagers, Raut claimed. “While keeping the original owners in the dark, RRWTL used names of dead people and transferred 123.46 hectares in two villages into its name. The 76 acres given by the government to late Bhika Jadhav, who served in the military, were also grabbed.” An ATL spokesperson denied the allegations and said the company has not acquired any such land as claimed by Raut.