Mukesh Ambani may have to reconsider his plan to build his 27-storey ‘residence’ at south Mumbai’s Altamount Road.
MUMBAI: Mukesh Ambani may have to reconsider his plan to build his 27-storey ‘residence’ at south Mumbai’s Altamount Road.
Senior state revenue officials on Wed-nesday said under the provisions of the Wakf Act of 1995, the Wakf Board has the right to acquire the property at any stage. “The board can also claim compensation – which could be huge considering the land is worth Rs200 crore – if they feel they cannot reclaim the property,’’ a revenue official said.
The official was justifying the state’s directive to the board to take back the property bought by Ambani-owned Antilia Commercial Pvt Ltd. in 2002. The firm is learnt to have purchased the property for approximately Rs21 crore.
The state government on Tuesday issued the above directive based on the report submitted by Sadiq Kadri, a senior official with the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) appointed to inquire into irregularities of Wakf properties a few months back. Kadri in his report had mentioned irregularities in 25 properties including the Ambani land which had been sold by the trustees without taking the board's sanction.
Incidentally, while the government has given the go-ahead for the board to take possession of the Ambani land, they have once again deferred suggesting any action on the Wakf land purchased by Dilip Deshmukh, brother of chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh at Aurangabad.
The government had played coy in suggesting action on these two properties when in March it asked the board to take action on properties detected in the Kadri report. The government however, deterred this two properties as with the purchase (of lands by Ambani and Deshmukh) legally challenged, they were unsure on what steps it can take.
Said A R Sheikh, the board's CEO, “We have already issued notices to owner of 20 of the 25 properties mentioned in the Kadri report in March.''
The Ambani's meanwhile, have refused to comment on the issue. But, officials with the charity commissioner told DNA that the property has been transferred to him by Currimbhoy Ibrahim Khoja trust as per law in 2002.
The government meanwhile, has also served a show cause notice to M A Aziz, the board chairman to explain irregularities in Wakf properties as detected by the Kadri committee.
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