‘Costly’ Dahisar land deal under CAG scanner?

The plot measuring 22,000 square metres is located at Eksar village in Dahisar

The BMC's 2020 deal, wherein the civic administration acquired a land it valued at Rs 54 crore in 2011 for a whopping Rs 349 crore from private firm Nishalp Realties, is likely to be probed by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) for alleged violations. The company, however, told mid-day that no rules were broken for the acquisition.

The BMC's deal could be taken up for scrutiny for two reasons - one for buying the land at an inflated rate and second for violating norms during the acquisition," a senior government official said on condition of anonymity.

The BMC's land acquisition policy is for plots reserved for open spaces or other public amenities. The Dahisar plot was reserved for a maternity home and playground. The policy also mentions that only encroachment-free plots can be acquired. However, the Dahisar plot has a dense population of slum dwellers.

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The Dahisar plot has a reservation for a maternity home and a playground. Representation pic/Nimesh Dave

In October 2020, an investigation by mid-day had highlighted the inflated deal for the acquisition of the encroached land located at Eksar village. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Saturday urged the CAG to conduct a probe into the BMC's deals worth several thousand crores by the BMC, made in the past three years.

The senior government official said the Daishar land acquisition could be one the deals to be probed by the CAG, as it was in violation of the acquisition rules. "This deal was even discussed on the floor of the state legislature. BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis had asked for an enquiry into the deal. Now that the CAG is likely to scrutinise this deal, more details would emerge in the near future," the official added.

The alleged violations

Nishalp Realities bought the plot for Rs 2.55 crore from Mascarenhas family in 2010. Within a year of the purchase, BMC proposed to purchase the land from Nishalp for Rs 54 crore. However, the BMC's Improvements Committee rejected the proposal in 2011.

The civic administration again tabled another proposal for the purchase of the land for Rs 349 crore in 2019. However, the then BMC chief Praveen Pardeshi shot down the proposal, because of the slum settlements. The civic administration still went ahead and bought 22,000 square meters of the land for crores. With the sale to the BMC in 2020, it made a profit of 13,556 per cent (Rs 346 crore).

Nishalp Speak

Alpesh Ajmera, one of the directors at Nishalp Realties, claimed that the land was not sold, but acquired by the BMC under the compulsory acquisition rule, and the price was not inflated. "The administration fixed the plot value at Rs 127 crore, the amount way below (nearly 20 per cent) of the prevailing ready reckoner rate and even market price of the plot," Ajmera said.

Giving a break-up of the Rs 349-crore deal, Ajmera said, "Rs 127 crore was land valuation [or compensation] and another Rs 127 crore was solatium amount [equivalent to 100 per cent of the compensation amount]. Besides, additional Rs 95 crore was paid as interest for the 120-month delay in releasing the payment." Besides the Daishar land deal, the CAG is likely to probe other deals related to road, bridges, and contracts worth crores given during the pandemic years.

Rs 2.55 cr
Amount Nishalp paid a family in 2010 for the plot

22,000 sq m
Area of the land acquired by BMC