NCP leader accuses state revenue minister of corruption

Revenue Minister Chandrakant Patil (left) and NCP leader Jayant Patil. File pic

NCP group leader Jayant Patil's accusations of massive corruption against revenue minister Chandrakant Patil rocked the legislature on Wednesday. The matter came up for discussion in the public forum after speaker Haribhau Bagade expunged Jayant Patil's remarks from the Assembly proceedings. The NCP leader and the minister held press conferences where Jayant Patil said the minister's decisions had caused a big loss to the government coffers. He demanded an inquiry into the matter and asked the revenue minister to quit immediately.

Jayant Patil told the media that the minister had waved off R42 crore in premium (usually half the price of the sale deal) that was to be paid to the government, and in the second case, the revenue department's boss allowed a playground to be used for commercial construction. Both land parcels are in Pune district, said the MLA.

A premium called 'nazrana' in the revenue department's parlance must be paid to the government when land in possession of a temple trust (a gift from the government for charitable purpose) is sold. Such payments facilitate the transfer of land in the name of the buyers.

According to the MLA, the 22-acre land at Kesanand Phata in Wagholi, Pune district was in possession of Matoba Devasthan Trust. He said the land was priced at R300 cr, but the deal was made for R84 crore.

The revenue department's lower authorities - the talathi to deputy commissioner - had told the trust to pay the premium. But when the parties concerned, including the buyer Radha Radha Soami Satsang Centre, appealed before the minister he overruled the officer's decision using his quasi-judicial authority.

Revenue Minister refutes charges

Addressing the media, Chandrakant Patil refuted the charges. He said since he wasn't served a notice by the MLA (as per the rule), the remarks were expunged from the day's proceedings. "Moreover, quasi-judicial matters cannot be discussed in the legislature. The quasi-judicial decisions are challenged only in the high court by the parties concerned," he said.

The minister said the land in question was not a gift (inaam) but a private property, which when sold, did not qualify for premium payment. But when told that similar quasi-judicial decisions were debated in the house without any hindrance and taken to their logical end, the minister said he had just quoted the legislative rules. Former revenue minister Eknath Khadse had to quit the post three years ago over such an issue.

The NCP group leader said a playground in Pune's Balewadi was used for constructing a commercial building worth R300 crore. "Imagine the money the builder would make by selling the property at a market rate which is about R20,000/sq ft.

"This happened because of the minister's blessings. Pune's BJP legislator Medha Kulkarni and local BJP corporator Amol Balwadkar had written letters to the Pune authorities to prevent the misuse. I also know that a calling attention notice was to come up (by BJP members) for discussion on Wednesday but it was postponed. This proves that the minister is trying all his influence to bury the issue," said Jayant Patil.

The revenue minister said he hadn't given any concession or order in the Balewadi land, but had directed for measuring the land again because of the objections raised over the earlier land survey.

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