Wanowrie land: civic body to take action next week

The issue came to the fore when the residents complained that the land that comes under Sector 64 —currently used for exercise and community interactions — has been usurped by the builders. The citizens were up in arms after the company put up boards and posted security guards.

However,Harshvardhan Group chairman and managing director Parag Deshmukh said they had put up the fence following a court order for protection of land. “Even as we are in various stages of ownership,we were given the decree to put up fences on July 25 last year.”

Deshmukh said,“We are not constructing without permission and currently we are using the land for agricultural purpose.”

The land is a Mahar Vatan land and according to rules cannot be sold or used for residential or commercial purpose without government sanction. The watandars are tenants of this land. Deshmukh said they got the permission from the state on June 17 last year for acquisition. “The said land was transferred to us in the presence of former district collector Prabhakar Deshmukh and watandars on June 17 last year.”

He said they had given the state government Rs 125 crore as land revenue. The state government had taken up the ownership of land in 1957. In 1995,former chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh took up the issue of re-granting of land. In 2002,the then revenue minister Ramraje Nimbalkar allotted four acres to the SRPF from the 52 acres and the 48 acres were re-granted to the watandars.

However,among the seven watandars in the land,most of them do not know about the land deal. Ramesh Kakade,one of the watandars,who owns 10.20 acres said he has not signed or parted with the land. “The builder has only two watandars,Prakash Kakade and Rohit Kakade,in the deal. The remaining five do not know about the land being given to the builder.”

Meanwhile,the builder has come up with a mega plan titled Eledora for construction on the land. The brochure says the land will house shopping malls,multiplex,restaurants,corporate park and star hotels with exclusive apartment units. “It’s a Rs 5,000-crore project and we have roped in UK architects as consultants. We hope to get the legal sanctions from the civic body in two months,” Deshmukh said.

Meanwhile,citizen committees in the area have written to Chief Minister Ashok Chavan after a member found out through RTI that the land was meant for a ring railway,high capacity mass transit route and playground.