'Ratnakar Gaikwad gave govt land that cost Rs 1,000-cr to builder'

Former Principal Secretary Uttam Khobragade made the allegation against the former Metropolitan Commissioner; also said he had evidence to support his claim

Uttam Khobragade, former Principal Secretary, Maharashtra, who has also played an integral role at MHADA, FDA, MSRTC and BEST, has alleged that former IAS officer Ratnakar Gaikwad, while working as Metropolitan Commissioner, handed over a 40,470 square metre government plot (it cost a loss of R1,000-cr to the exchequer) at Akurli in Pune to Kiran Hemani of Ruchi-Priya developers. He made the allegations at a press conference held yesterday. He claimed the land belonged to the government and not the MMRDA, and Gaikwad did this despite knowing that the land cannot be part of any deal without permissions from the government. Khobragade has also written to the ACB.

Uttam Khobragade

Accusing Gaikwad of being behind the Ambedkar Bhavan demolition, Khobragade alleged that there are several other land grabbing incidents and corruption that Gaikwad is involved in. “Land is taken under the name of ‘Buddhist Revival Trust,’ and funds start flowing, what happens with the funds later on, nobody knows.” Khobragade said.

“Through trusts like Buddhist Revival Trust and another trust in Pune, Gaikwad, along with his brother-in-law Subhash Chandra Goel, has been grabbing land and looting people in the name of donations. This is the most modern form of taking bribes and Gaikwad should be given a Padma Shri for this.” Khobragade said.

After the Ambedkar Bhavan demolition, Khobragade claims, he knew there was a huge scam behind it, and started his investigation.

“I have the documentary evidence to support my claim. Gaikwad didn’t do all this alone. He had a few pawns. He has grabbed land illegally and misused the power his position offered,” Khobragade said.

“It’s a matter of Rs 1,000 crore. Things like these will keep happening unless Dalits choose their own leaders. The reason nobody spoke about Rohith Vemula was because the elected Dalit representatives were not catering to the Dalit interests, they were catering to the people who made them get that seat. It’s time people wake up to this realisation,” said Khobragade.

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