BJP MLA claims sale of Mumbai plot to builder caused Rs 3,000 cr loss to Maharashtra – Times of India

MUMBAI: BJP MLA Ashish Shelar on Tuesday alleged a land sale in Bandra West area of Mumbai had brought about a loss of Rs 3,000 crore to the Maharashtra state exchequer. The MLA had last week said the plot of land, which was sold by a trust to a builder for Rs 324 crore, had a value of Rs 1,000 crore.
“This is a scam of Rs 3,000 crore which has been carried out by fraudulently transferring a prime government-owned plot of land adjacent to Taj Hotel at Bandstand in Bandra West to a builder. The government has helped the builder benefit by offering FSI as charity on the plot under the guise of slum rehabilitation,” he alleged.
“The state government has given permission to the builder to implement SRA scheme on this vacant land. Under this, the builder will construct 168 permanent transit camp houses on this land. Under the guise of building these transit camp houses, the builder will be given all benefits of SRA scheme,” he added.
Shelar claimed the developer would have got an area of 1.90 lakh square feet for sale if the plot was developed as a vacant one with an FSI of 2, but by going ahead with development under the SRA scheme, the developer gets three lakh square feet land for sale as the Floor Space Index will now be 4.
“A 42-storey tower is likely to come on the plot due to this FSI of 4. The builder has paid Rs 28 crore to the government and Rs 234 to the charitable trust and got ownership of the plot. He has got prime property for a paltry price,” the BJP MLA from Bandra West alleged.
The matter needs to be probed immediately as a senior state minister is involved along with functionaries from the offices of the charity commissioner, suburban district collectorate and Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, Shelar alleged.
The plot of land in question has been on lease with Bandra Parsi Convalescent Home For Women & Children Charitable Trust since 1905 and it was meant for facilities to treat patients.
However, the trust did not utilize this land and its lease expired in 1980, and as per the 2034 Development Plan (DP) of the BMC, it is now meant for a rehabilitation centre.
Before this plot could come into the possession of the government with the expiry of the lease agreement, an advertisement was issued for its sale in 2020 and by 2022 the state government gave all permissions for its sale, he said.
In fact, this prime property had a structure with historical status but it has now been given away to a builder unauthorizedly, the MLA alleged.