Maharashtra: Opposition corners government in legislative council over MIDC land involving Eknath Khadse

The Opposition led by Congress and NCP tried to corner the Maharashtra government in the Legislative Council on Tuesday over the controversial MIDC land purchase at Bhosari involving kin of former state revenue minister Eknath Khadse.

However, state Industries minister Subhash Desai said, "After the judicial probe panel headed by retired High Court judge DS Zoting submits its report in September, the government will take strict action against all those named in it." Earlier, in his starred question, Congress MLC Sanjay Dutt wanted to know whether the land belonging to Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) at Bhosari was illegally purchased by Eknath Khadse's wife Mandakini and his son-in-law Girish Chaudhari in April-May.

He wanted to know why no case was registered against the accused and said Khadse had claimed that it was a fair deal. Eknath Khadse resigned as Revenue Minister following a string of allegations, including one related to graft. Raising a point of procedure, Sharad Ranpise (Congress) contended that the land deal was actually worth Rs 65 crore. "However, the 1.21 hectare land was purchased at just Rs 3.75 crore leading to a profit of Rs 61.25 crore," he said.

Asserting that the land has been recorded as government vested endowment, Desai said, "The probe encompasses issues of ownership, land acquisition, was it saleable, was there any conflict of interest and other issues involved." No names have been added to the land records, the minister said.