More trouble on cards for Chavan

Bharati Dubey &, TNN, Oct 31, 2010,

MUMBAI: An RTI response dated October 2009 may spell more trouble for beleaguered Ashok Chavan, who resigned from the post of chief minister on Saturday following the Adarsh housing society scam. According to information, Chavan, as industries and mining minister in 2008, facilitated the lease of 442 acres reserved as forest land to the sons of two ministers and a political party worker for mining.

Documents with this paper reveal that Atul, son of MPCC president Manikrao Thakare, was given over 262 acres while Pravin, son of Yavatmal MLA Vamanrao Kasawar, was given 105 acres. Another 70 acres were cleared for Latif Udeem Khanla, a party worker. The green stretch of government land in Dongargaon in Wani tehsil, worth approximately Rs 88 crore, is still reserved as forest land, but shockingly, the mining application moved to the ministry of environment & forests (which has yet to be cleared) claims the land is barren and not reserved. Said Vilas Wankhede, the RTI applicant, "The Yavatmal mining officer forwarded this report claiming the land was barren to the industries department in April 2008. The government took over this piece of land in 1954 when the Land Ceiling Act came into being. In fact, those records show that this land is reserved as forest land.'' Despite this, tenders were invited by the mining department in 2008, and 55 companies, including Ambuja Cement, Murali Industries and M/S Uttam Galwa, applied for the mining rights. However, in his letter (a copy of which is with the TOI), Chavan saw fit to lease the land to Thakare, Kasawar and Khanla, saying that though the big companies were "eligible in all respects, (they) have either already been granted mineral concessions in the state or they are competent to procure minerals from other sources. Therefore, the new emerging entrepreneurs need to be given a chance to prove their metal (mettle) and to expand the field of mineral-based industry in the state''.

In his conclusion, Chavan said, "I am satisfied that M/S Taj Lime Industries, Rajpur, Atul Manikrao Thakare and Pravin Kasawar from Yavatmal are fit applicants to be recommended for grant of prospecting licence of limestone and dolomite ore mining in the said area.'' When TOI contacted Manikrao Thakare, he confirmed that Chavan had indeed cleared the proposal to lease the land to his son. "We agreed to pay royalty to the government from the limestone and dolomite that we would mine. We are waiting for the Centre's approval,'' he added. Chavan did not reply to TOI's messages.