Times
of India: Gandhinagar: Saturday, 06 February 2016.
Gujarat
Congress has accused chief minister Anandiben Patel of selling 245 acres of
government land worth nearly Rs 145 crore to her daughter Anar Patel's business
associates for a mere Rs 1.5 crore in 2011 when Narendra Modi was at the helm
in Gujarat. The land in question adjoins Gir sanctuary and is located within
the eco-sensitive zone in Amreli district.
Former GPCC
chief Arjun Modhwadia addressed a press conference in Gandhinagar while
Congress leaders Kapil Sibal and Anand Sharma addressed newsmen simultaneously
in New Delhi to make these serious allegations. The Congress has demanded
resignation of Anandiben, cancellation of the deal and a probe by a Supreme
Court or a high court-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT).
The Congress
leaders alleged that as revenue minister in Modi's cabinet, Anandiben had got
cabinet approval for allotment of 245 acres of government land to a newly
formed company, Wildwoods Resort & Realties Pvt Ltd (WWR). The allotted
land is located next to the Gir lion sanctuary in Dhari block of Amreli.
The state
government had given government land to WWR at Rs 15 per square metre - at a
fraction of the market price - and also given permission for non-agriculture
(NA) use of 176 acres of private agriculture land purchased by the company for
a resort. The total land acquired by the company was almost 422 acres.
The Congress
further alleged that the state government gave away public land at the rate of
Rs 60,000 per acre while the market price of the same land was estimated to be
more than Rs 50 lakh per acre in 2011.
They alleged
that official documents accessed under Right to Information (RTI) Act revealed
that Anar Patel had invested in WWR that was promoted by Sanjay Vajubhai
Dhanak, a Dubai-based businessman who hails from Amreli.
Soon after
the land was allotted and permission granted for developing a resort in Dhari,
shares of WWR were transferred to Anar Patel's current business partner, Daxesh
Rameshchandra Shah, and two others. Two companies owned by Anar's partner -
Anil Infraplus Ltd and Parshwa Texchem (India) Pvt ltd - acquired 49.5% shares
each in WWR.
Later, Anar
Patel's company, Anar Projects, and Relish Pharma in which she is a business
partner, joined WWR by acquiring equity through various business transactions
recorded with the Registrar of Companies.
The Congress
further alleged that Anar Patel had used "black money" and exploited
her mother's position as revenue minister.
It was
further alleged that in order to benefit Anar Patel, Gujarat government had
delayed announcement of rules for earmarking eco-sensitive zones. The WWR
acquired land was located within 2 km of the periphery of the Gir sanctuary
within which no commercial activity could be undertaken. Under the modified
policy, the radius was reduced to 1.5 km. Since the land allotted to WWR is
outside the prohibited zone, it was now eligible to apply for commercial
activities such as opening a resort.
WWR was
supposed to develop the resort within five years but now Anar Patel is using
the land as an orchard farm, alleged Modhwadia. As more than six years have
passed, she must return the public land, he said.
While Chief
Minister Anandiben Patel and her government avoided commenting on the
allegations, the state BJP described the Congress's allegations as baseless.
State BJP
vice-president and spokesperson I K Jadeja said by linking Anar Patel's name to
the alleged land scam, the Congress had made one more attempt to malign the
state government. While contesting the evidence produced by the Congress, he
said "The permission for construction within the eco-senstive zone is
given by the Wildlife Board of India. The state government has no role in
it".
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