‘Congress gifted prime land to Tatas at throwaway rates’

MUMBAI: An RTI query on Thursday revealed that a huge plot of acquired land here was allegedly ‘gifted’ to the Tata Group at throwaway rates by the previous Congress-Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) government in Maharashtra.

The land measuring 32,182.20 sq metres was given to the Tata Group by the previous government shortly before it demitted office.

Prominent Right to Information (RTI) activist Anil Galgali has now demanded that Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis should order a probe into the matter and cancel the allotment as the land could have been used for housing the poor.

Giving details, he said the acquired piece of prime land in Borivali East, opposite the Sanjay Gandhi National Park, worth over Rs 3,000 crore, was allotted to Tata Group at dirt cheap rates.

“This acquired land could have been used for public or low-cost housing, but now it will be utilised for construction high-end luxury apart- ments. It is a good example of how land acquired from the poor is handed over to the rich,” Galgali said.

When asked for their response, a Tata Steel spokesperson said they needed time to study the matter before replying.

According to documents acquired by Galgali from the Mumbai Suburban District collectorate under the RTI, the state government had acquired the plot (32,182.20 sqmt) in the 1960s under the Land Acquisition Act. It was meant for extending godowns and making residential quarters for the workers of the company, Special Steels Ltd, which was later taken over by Tata Steel.

In 2001, new owners Tata Steel sold a part of the land, 3,051.80 sqmt to a leading private builder for commercial and residential purposes.

However, Galgali said, in the process Tata Steel violated government rules which stipulated that before handing it over to any other party, it must take the government’s permission but it defaulted and sent a request to the collector only subsequently, seeking transfer of the property.

The government asked Tata Steel to return the land but when it appealed and ruling went in its favour, Tata Steel paid Rs 8.40 crore as ‘ unearned income’.

Later, the company applied for transfer of the remaining 29,130.40 sqmt land to exploit it for residential and commercial purposes, ostensibly with help from government officials.