PANAJI
Lokayukta Justice P K Misra on Monday through a notice has sought details from the Chief Secretary on the controversial acquisition of land in Shiroda belonging to former Congress MLA Subhash Shirodkar, who recently switched sides to the BJP.
The Chief Secretary has been asked to furnish the details before the next hearing which is fixed on November 14.
Activist lawyer Adv Aires Rodrigues in a complaint before the Lokayukta had alleged that the State government has acquired 1,83,524 sq meters of orchard land in Shiroda from Shirodkar for a whopping Rs 70 crore.
In his complaint, Adv Rodrigues has also drawn the attention of the Lokayukta that he had filed a complaint with the Chief Secretary on May 29 this year on this land scam involving Subhash Shirodkar but that no action was taken by the government in the matter.
Rodrigues has alleged that the benefit of the land deal was the reason for Shirodkar to take the plunge into the BJP.
Besides Shirodkar, Adv Rodrigues has made Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar and Chief Secretary as party to the alleged scam.
Adv Rodrigues in his plaint stated that Vedanta Real Estate Developers owned by Shirodkar and his three brothers Amit, Umesh and Sattesh had purchased that land on October 19, 2006, for a mere Rs 45 rupees per square meter which the government has now acquired for a very hefty price of Rs 3,500 per sq meter.
He has alleged that the rate paid for the land was exorbitant and unusually high.
Adv Rodrigues said another landowner had by a letter dated April 5, 2018, addressed to the Chief Secretary had offered the government 1,40,650 sq metes of his land in Shiroda itself for a mere Rs 350 per square metre and that a copy of that letter had been also sent to the then Cabinet Advisory Committee comprising ministers Sudin Dhavalikar, Francis D’Souza, and Vijai Sardesai.
Adv Rodrigues has stated that any land acquisition by the government is always for a particular purpose and that Shirodkar’s land was acquired by the industries department without having any plan in place for what purpose it would be used.
Stating that the government was duty bound to make provision for the payment of any land acquired and that there was no provision for making payment in installments, Adv Rodrigues has stated that the payment by installments in this case was a methodology for keeping Shirodkar tied down to receiving dole from the government in exchange for his continued support.
Shirodkar, however, said that the land deal is transparent and as per the new land acquisition policy. He also asserted that his political rival from Shiroda constituency, then industries minister Mahadev Naik, has mischievously tried to acquire his land to make him bankrupt but due to delay in land acquisition procedure he got respite from the court and government has given him money as per provisions of the new land acquisition act.
