Pres daughter's name dragged in Pune land row
Pune: In Maharashtra, a new controversy is brewing and the name of the Indian President is being dragged into the allegations. Reports suggest that 37 acres of government controlled public land in a small village here is being quitely taken over for private use by Pratibha Patil's daughter.
Barely 30 kilometers from Pune and just off the Mumbai-Bangalore highway in a small village called Jambhe, the villagers are protesting the local panchayat leader's decision to suddenly allot large plots of land to a trust run by President Pratibha Patil's daughter Jyoti Rathod. CNN-IBN was told the other beneficiary of this land allotment was Maharashtra's rural development minister Jayan Patil.
Laxam Gayakwad, a Panchayat member said that the villagers are against outsiders being given land when the people of the village don't have enough for themselves. The local panchayat is ruled by Sharad Pawar's NCP. The panchayat leader is now facing criticism for allotting two plots of 10 acres each to an educational trust run by Jayant Patil and about 17 acres land to Jyoti Rathod's trust. This entire thing was done without following any official procedure or inviting tenders. RTI activists in Pune say this is a blatant violation of norms.
Vivek Velankar, an RTI activist said, " This is a blatant violation. Even if they wanted to hand over the land for private use they should have invited tenders for this sale of the land. Land has been handed over to these VIPs at 1/10th the market price. Citizens can challenge this and take the matter to court."
Villagers allege land has been given at a throw away price. Market price of the land is 10 lakhs per acre. However, the trust has given land at around 1 lakh per acre. Lease for land has been renewed for 30 years and for everything the villagers were not taken into confidence.
Documents in possession of CNN-IBN show that land has been transferred on the name of trusts but the trust is registered on the residential address of Mrs Jyoti Rathod. Despite repeated requests she refused to comment but State Minister Jayant Patil claimed the land deal was legal.
Jayant Patil, Rural Development Minister of Maharashtra said, "It is only 20 acers of land..., an engineering college will be built there..., in Maharashtra giving land for educational organisations is not new, many trusts have got such land before, it is all legal"
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