Hindustan Times: Mumbai: Thursday, May 18, 2017.
The Shiv Sena
stepped up its attack on the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), its senior partner in
the state government, by opposing the stamp duty hike on conveyance and the
gift deed to blood relations.
It also
alleged corruption in chief minister Devendra Fadnavis’s flagship water
conservation project Jalyukta Shivar.
The Sena
wrote to Fadnavis, asking him to reconsider the hike or the party would take to
the streets against the government. It also announced a rally in Nashik on May
19 to demand farm loan waiver.
Shiv Sena
leader and environment minister Ramdas Kadam and transport minister Diwakar
Raote wrote to Fadnavis, asking him to roll back the hike. Kadam said the
decision to hike duty will hit middle-class homebuyers and consumers
transferring their flats to blood relatives. He said the decision was taken
without taking Sena into confidence. Kadam added that it was Sena chief Uddhav
Thackeray who directed them to oppose the decision.
He also
alleged rampant financial irregularities in the Jalyukt Shivar project. Kadam
said contracts awarded in Mandangad, Dapoli and Khed taluka in Ratnagiri
involved corruption and substandard work. He said his son Yogesh has gathered
relevant documents under the Right to Information (RTI) Act to prove the
corruption, which amounts to a few crores.
The Sena also
announced it would launch a parallel audit into Jalyukt Shivar works across
Maharashtra, during which party workers would be asked to inspect ongoing work
in their respective areas.
Brushing
aside the allegations, water conservation minister and BJP leader Ram Shinde
said the government is ready to probe any project under the scheme. Shinde
alleged that the allegations levelled by Kadam were nothing but an outcome of
his ongoing dispute with guardian minister of Ratnagiri and Shiv Sena leader
Ravindra Waikar.
Kadam, on the
other hand, said he has handed over all the documentary evidence to Fadnavis
and claimed that the CM has admitted to poor quality work.A day after its
decision, the state clarified that the stamp duty on gift deeds between
father-son, grandfather-grandson will remain unchanged at Rs 200 per
transaction. “Though we have suffered loss of Rs500 crore in the past two
years, we are ready to bear it. The hike in stamp duty is on the gift deeds
between other blood relations such as brother-sister, husband-wife,” said
revenue minister Chandrakant Patil.
He added that
the rise in the stamp duty on conveyance is applicable only to rural and
semi-urban areas. Patil said the demand seeking roll back of the hike by the
Sena is owing to a misunderstanding. He said he has explained the hike to Kadam
and would also speak to Thackeray if needed.
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