Now, Congress accuses Bokhiria of Rs300-cr scam

A day after water resources minister Babu Bokhiria and three others were convicted in the Rs54-crore illegal mining case, the Opposition Congress has come out with startling allegations, accusing the minister and his associates of a Rs300-crore land scam in Porbandar.

The allegations are about illegally purchasing vast tract of land belonging to the now-closed SMP Cement company. The cement company employed some 1,000 people, but it was closed down in 1995.

The Opposition party alleged that nearly 1 lakh sq yard land, which was valued at Rs250 crore, was sold by SMP Cement to a group of persons including Babu Bokhiria, Viram Godhania, Bhima Arjan Odedara and Mulu Arjan Odedara, at a throwaway price.

“Bokhiria not only acquired the land from the cement company illegally, but he has also encroached upon the adjacent government land,” Congress alleged.

It also said that in spite of the stay order of Gujarat High Court, the land-use was changed for the prime plot from industrial to residential purpose by the administration at Bokhiria’s behest.

The Opposition alleged that the workers’ dues to the tune of Rs91 crore have not been settled by the company. The Paschim Gujarat Vij Company Limited has to recover Rs25 crore from the cement company, but the Congress claimed that the company had given no objection certificate for sale of the land. Further, the sales tax dues are Rs48 crore, while an additional Rs10 crore is owed to the mines department.

According to the Opposition, workers’ quarters on the disputed land were demolished illegally without any prior notice. It said that many senior officers had illegally facilitated the dealings. The party demanded a probe by an independent agency.