`500cr Jogeshwari land scam being probed, says civic chief

In the wake of the rising uproar on the issue of the alleged Jogeshwari land scam worth Rs 500 crore on Thursday, civic commissioner Ajoy Mehta assured an inquiry was under way. Mehta told the Standing Committee he had already asked the head of the legal department, Nidhi Choudhari, to conduct the probe and submit a report within 10 days.

Furthermore, he claimed, it was he who had been the first to blow the the whistle on the alleged illegality. His clarification comes after former Member of Parliament (MP) and Mumbai Regional Congress Committee chief Sanjay Nirupam had alleged Mehta's involvement in the land scam. Denying the allegation, Mehta told the standing committee he was the one who had red-flagged the issue several times in the past and had also asked the civic legal department officials to challenge the High Court order in the Supreme Court, as it was not in favour of the civic body. Though legal officials were of the opinion that the BMC should not approach the apex court, he insisted on approaching the SC, Mehta added.

The issue came to light after the BMC lost the case in Bombay High Court. The actual owner of the plot approached the court, after the BMC failed to claim the land in question 10 years after the acquisition period had ended.

The disputed plot, 14,000 square metres in area and worth Rs 500 crore, had been reserved for hospital and recreational ground (RG), but the civic body failed to acquire the plot in the last decade. Nirupam alleged, "When the case reached high court, not a single lawyer representing the civic body was present in the court that day. Also,when the BMC lost this case in high court, the BMC commissioner stated that the civic body should not approach the Supreme Court in this case."

Nirupam met Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Abhishek Trimukhe, demanding stringent legal action against Mehta in the Jogeshwari land reservation case and an FIR against him.