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After the illegal mining scam, the Goa Government is staring in the face of a huge industrial land allotment scam. The Goa State Industries’ Association (GSIA) has sought investigation by a retired judge of a high court into the alleged scandal by the State Government-run industrial corporation.
The scam is said to involve many Congress leaders, including Uttarakhand Governor Margaret Alva, whose sons have allegedly been allotted land at throwaway prices.
“There is a clear-cut scandal. We have filed a criminal complaint against top officials of the Goa Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC). We have noticed nearly 250 dubious allotments. Most plots measure between 5,000 sq m to 35,000 sq m,” GSIA president Sardesai told reporters.
The scam came to light around March, when GSIA officials who are members of the State Government-appointed task force to look into unused plots, discovered that 250-odd plots in various industrial estates in Goa were allotted out of turn.
GSIA has alleged that GIDC chairman and Congress legislator Chandrakant Kavlekar, GIDC managing director Ajit Naik and other officials were involved in making fraudulent allotments by forging minutes of GIDC board meetings.
One of the allotments which triggered controversy is a plot measuring 67,457.5 sq m — almost 60 per cent of the Shiroda industrial estate, which was given to Miditech Pvt Ltd, promoted by Niret and Niket Alva, both sons of Uttarakhand Governor Margaret Alva.
Land was allotted to the firm when Alva was AICC official overseeing Goa affairs and has been lying unutilised for nearly five years, violating GIDC norms for prompt utilisation. “We are exercising our own legal options. There has to be criminal liability on those who have been violating law and making these allotments over the last four years,” Sardesai said.
CM Digambar Kamat has ordered a vigilance probe but no action has been taken yet.
Goa’s controversial land allotments to SEZ promoters have also been cancelled by Goa Government following public pressure, after serious discrepancies found in land allotment procedures by the then CM Pratapsing Rane.
The scam is said to involve many Congress leaders, including Uttarakhand Governor Margaret Alva, whose sons have allegedly been allotted land at throwaway prices.
“There is a clear-cut scandal. We have filed a criminal complaint against top officials of the Goa Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC). We have noticed nearly 250 dubious allotments. Most plots measure between 5,000 sq m to 35,000 sq m,” GSIA president Sardesai told reporters.
The scam came to light around March, when GSIA officials who are members of the State Government-appointed task force to look into unused plots, discovered that 250-odd plots in various industrial estates in Goa were allotted out of turn.
GSIA has alleged that GIDC chairman and Congress legislator Chandrakant Kavlekar, GIDC managing director Ajit Naik and other officials were involved in making fraudulent allotments by forging minutes of GIDC board meetings.
One of the allotments which triggered controversy is a plot measuring 67,457.5 sq m — almost 60 per cent of the Shiroda industrial estate, which was given to Miditech Pvt Ltd, promoted by Niret and Niket Alva, both sons of Uttarakhand Governor Margaret Alva.
Land was allotted to the firm when Alva was AICC official overseeing Goa affairs and has been lying unutilised for nearly five years, violating GIDC norms for prompt utilisation. “We are exercising our own legal options. There has to be criminal liability on those who have been violating law and making these allotments over the last four years,” Sardesai said.
CM Digambar Kamat has ordered a vigilance probe but no action has been taken yet.
Goa’s controversial land allotments to SEZ promoters have also been cancelled by Goa Government following public pressure, after serious discrepancies found in land allotment procedures by the then CM Pratapsing Rane.
