City
Epaper

Opposition wants Maharashtra Minister to go for corruption

By IANS | Updated: June 27, 2019 14:15 IST

The Maharashtra opposition parties on Thursday protested outside the legislature building, reiterating their demand for the resignation of Revenue Minister Chandrakant Patil over alleged charges of corruption.

Open in App

"The charges are indeed very serious and a SIT must be formed to investigate them," said Leader of Opposition Vijay Wadettiwar.

Congress deputy leader in the house Naseem Khan said that till a probe is completed, the minister must resign from the government.

The legislators later shouted slogans against the minister and the government, demanding his sacking or resignation for his involvement in alleged land scams.

The issue snowballed after Nationalist Congress Party leader and former finance minister Jayant Patil on Wednesday accused Chandrakant Patil of allegedly misusing his powers to benefit realty developers which caused a huge loss to the exchequer in two land deals in Pune in 2018 and 2019.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis debunked Jayant Patil's charges saying everything was done properly and there was no loss to the exchequer.

In the first case, Jayant Patil contended that around 42 acres of land belonging to a temple trust in Kesanand village was proclaimed as 'private land' by the minister, which was illegal and it was transferred without a premium fee being levied on the beneficiary.

The land, originally gifted to the Mhatoba Temple Devasthan in 1861 by the then Bombay Governor, was handed over to the Radhaswami Satsang which applied to the collector to regularize the deal and change the use to non-agricultural.

Jayant Patil claimed that when the revenue commission rejected the plea for not paying the premium fee, an appeal was made to the minister who allegedly said the land was 'private' and used his powers to clear the transaction without the payment of a premium fee. This caused a loss of at least Rs 42 crore to the government.

He cited another instance in which the minister allegedly favoured a private builder Umesh K. Wani of Shivpriya Realtors to grab a reserved playground plot in Balewadi, Pune.

Jayant Patil accused the revenue officials of conniving with the builder to get approval for his proposed housing scheme to show around 6000 sq. feet of an adjoining playground as part of his project, which was later approved.

After objections were raised by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator Medha Kulkarni and a municipal corporator at this 'playground grab', the revenue department ordered a probe after which the so-called 'mistake' came to light.

However, the realtor approached Minister Patil, who reportedly helped him to get approval for his project in December 2018, said Jayant Patil.

( With inputs from IANS )

Tags: PatilJayant PatilNationalist Congress PartypuneBharatiya Janata Party
Open in App

Related Stories

PuneGautami Patil’s Car Crashes Into Auto-Rickshaw in Pune, 3 Injured; Driver Detained (VIDEO)

PunePune Shocker: Man Seen Slapping, Kicking Woman in Shocking KK Market Assault (Watch Video)

PunePune Accident: One Woman Killed, Dozens Injured as Pickup Overturns and Falls into Ditch in Junnar

PunePune Accident: One Dead, Another Critically Injured as Car Falls into Pit on Bhor-Mahad Road

PunePune-Solapur Highway Accident: One Dead in Tempo Collision Near Vakhari Village; Horrific Crash Caught on CCTV (Watch Video)

National Realted Stories

NationalCentre approves mitigation, recovery and reconstruction projects worth Rs 4645.60 crore

NationalRajasthan: Steady decline in crime over last two years, claims police

NationalMaha: Five Dussehra rallies to be held tomorrow; all eyes on Uddhav Thackeray and Eknath Shinde

NationalCentre grants Rs 260.56 crore for rebuilding Wayanad hit by landslide

National‘Deep insult to freedom struggle’: Congress on honouring RSS