Report that has
highlighted out-of-turn land allotments to ministers may force state govt to
take tough calls
The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), took a major step towards exposing the hidden rot in the Maharashtra administration by painting a picture of murky land deals, open violation of building and environmental norms intended to benefit powerful politicians and businessmen. The report, which has already pushed the Prithivraj Chavan government on the backfoot, has criticised the allotment of land to the Lavasa hill station project near Pune and shed light on out-of-turn land allotments to many ministers.
Coming just weeks after the ruling Congress-NCP's drubbing in the municipal elections in Mumbai and Thane, and amidst a perception that the state administration is lethargic and adrift, the report is expected to force Prithviraj Chavan government to act. The leakage of some parts of the report last week created a firestorm which continued on Tuesday with the opposition creating a ruckus inside the assembly.
CAG found serious loopholes in the procedures followed to sanction the Lavasa hill station project to Hindustan Construction Company (HCC). “Hill-station type areas in Pune were identified without any expert study and Lavasa Corp was selected without any transparency; the project was driven more by private interest than public interest. The state decided to develop the area without publicity or expressions of interest, and only one project, Lavasa, got the sanction in 2001. No other hill stations have been developed since then with private participation in other parts of the state, resulting in skewed development,” the report stated.
“Grant of the Special Planning Authority status to Lavasa Corp – a first, with no precedence was accepted. The government abdicated its responsibility of monitoring the project, handing out undue favours to the developer. Lavasa Corp’s plans and layouts violated certain state rules but the director of town planning, Pune, didn’t monitor these modifications,” the CAG report added.
Apart from mentioning the irregularities regarding land allotment at a concessional rate to trusts belonging to several state ministers, the report also points to various cases of unethical procedures followed in government departments.
For instance, the report mentions certain practices in RTOs in Mumbai and other cities where hundreds of car owners were allotted their preferred vehicle registration numbers but were not charged a fee for that. The report also points out several cases of unexplained mismatch in the sale value and tax recovery in hundreds of vehicles. Earlier, state industries minister Narayan Rane claimed that the report leak was a breach of privilege and demanded action while home minister RR Patil announced an inquiry by the Mumbai Crime Branch into the leak.
Source: The Economic Times (Mumbai) Edition, April 18 ,2012
The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), took a major step towards exposing the hidden rot in the Maharashtra administration by painting a picture of murky land deals, open violation of building and environmental norms intended to benefit powerful politicians and businessmen. The report, which has already pushed the Prithivraj Chavan government on the backfoot, has criticised the allotment of land to the Lavasa hill station project near Pune and shed light on out-of-turn land allotments to many ministers.
Coming just weeks after the ruling Congress-NCP's drubbing in the municipal elections in Mumbai and Thane, and amidst a perception that the state administration is lethargic and adrift, the report is expected to force Prithviraj Chavan government to act. The leakage of some parts of the report last week created a firestorm which continued on Tuesday with the opposition creating a ruckus inside the assembly.
CAG found serious loopholes in the procedures followed to sanction the Lavasa hill station project to Hindustan Construction Company (HCC). “Hill-station type areas in Pune were identified without any expert study and Lavasa Corp was selected without any transparency; the project was driven more by private interest than public interest. The state decided to develop the area without publicity or expressions of interest, and only one project, Lavasa, got the sanction in 2001. No other hill stations have been developed since then with private participation in other parts of the state, resulting in skewed development,” the report stated.
“Grant of the Special Planning Authority status to Lavasa Corp – a first, with no precedence was accepted. The government abdicated its responsibility of monitoring the project, handing out undue favours to the developer. Lavasa Corp’s plans and layouts violated certain state rules but the director of town planning, Pune, didn’t monitor these modifications,” the CAG report added.
Apart from mentioning the irregularities regarding land allotment at a concessional rate to trusts belonging to several state ministers, the report also points to various cases of unethical procedures followed in government departments.
For instance, the report mentions certain practices in RTOs in Mumbai and other cities where hundreds of car owners were allotted their preferred vehicle registration numbers but were not charged a fee for that. The report also points out several cases of unexplained mismatch in the sale value and tax recovery in hundreds of vehicles. Earlier, state industries minister Narayan Rane claimed that the report leak was a breach of privilege and demanded action while home minister RR Patil announced an inquiry by the Mumbai Crime Branch into the leak.
Source: The Economic Times (Mumbai) Edition, April 18 ,2012
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