Govt allots prime Andheri plot to Hema Malini for `1.75 lakh

MUMBAI: A 2,000 sqm plot in Mumbai’s upscale Andheri costs only Rs1.75 lakh, just not for you.

The Maharashtra government has decided to allot the plot at the nominal rate to actor and Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Hema Malini to set up a dance school. The allotment of the land has been controversial for months, with allegations that the state government was giving the plot to the actor at a throwaway price.

The state government had then clarified it had not fixed the price. Sources said the decision has now been taken after evaluation of the land by the collector’s office.

According to a state government policy, charitable and educational trusts need to pay only 25% of the total cost of a plot, that too as per February 1, 1976 rates.

By this measure, the market price in 1976 was Rs350 per sqm, or of Rs7 lakh for the 2,000 sqm plot. With the 25% clause, the cost of this plot comes to Rs1.75 lakh, highly placed sources in the government said. The clause applies to Hema, said sources, as she will set up the dance school and cultural complex through her charitable trust Natya Vihar Kala Kendra. The value of the plot, in the upmarket area of Ambivli in Andheri, is Rs23 crore according to the government’s ready reckoner rates.

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