Unmindful of the controversy over the allotment of a 2,000 square meter (sq mt) plot to Hema Malini at a “throwaway” price, the BJP-led Maharashtra Government has gone ahead and allotted the prime plot of land to the veteran actress-turned-MP at upmarket Oshiwara in north-west Mumbai worth Rs70 crore for just Rs1.75 lakh, according to RTI activist Anil Galgali.
The documents accessed by Galgali through RTI queries reveal that the State Government has allotted the 2,000 sq mt land to the veteran actress-turned-BJP MP at the rate of Rs87.50 per sq metre for the construction of her dance academy at Oshiwara.
“The allotment made to the actress in 2016 has been done on the rate of valuation that prevailed on February 1, 1976, when the rate fixed by the Government was Rs350 per sq mt. Since a Government resolution stipulates that the land allotment in such cases would be done at 25 per cent of the valuation, Hema Malini has got the prime piece of land at the one fourth of Rs350 per sq mt — that is Rs87.50 per sq mt,” Galgali said here on Saturday.
In Maharashtra, as per a 1983 resolution, the State Government has been allotting land for educational and cultural purposes at 25 per cent of rate prevalent in 1976. The actress has been allotted the land for her dance academy as per that resolution.
The information about the rate of Rs 350 per sq meter at which the land was allotted to Hema Malini was passed to Galgali, in the form of a letter written by Assistant Director Town Planner C P Singh to Mumbai Suburban Collector on March 29, 2016.
“In essence, the actress-turned-MP has been allotted land admeasuring 2000 sq mtrs at Oshivara valued over Rs 70 crore for a mere Rs 1.75 lakh i.e., at the rate of Rs 87.50 per sq mtr for construction of a dance Academy,” Galgali said.
“I am surprised as to why the state government has chosen to the rate that prevailed in 1976 instead of the ready reckoner rate,” Galgali said.
Earlier, it had come to light through a reply to an RTI query raised by Galgali that the state government had allotted allotted 2,000 sq meters of land at the rate of Rs 35 per square meter —which meant that the actress was to get the prime piece of land at a throwaway price of Rs 70,000.
In the past when the Sena-BJP alliance was in power, Hema Malini had been allotted a land at Versova village of the same Andheri taluka on April 4, 1997 for which she had made a payment of Rs 10 lakh to the state government. Since the land allotted to the actress came under the Coastal Regulation Zone, the state government has allotted 2,000 sq meter of alternative piece of land in lieu of the land allotted to her in the past.
“Hema Malini had not undertaken any construction on the land allotted to her earlier. Ignoring her track record, the state government has acted benevolently and allotted an alternative land for her,” the RTI activist said.
On her part, Hema Malini had said in February this year that she was not grabbing any land as was being made out and that she would abide by all rules and make necessary payment for the acquisition of the plot.
“I am not grabbing any land. I do not know why people are writing things like land grabbing etc.. I have struggled for getting this land. It is my right to have this place. I have been asking for it for the last 20 years. Everybody was keen to give it me, but somehow it had not happened. I will follow whatever the laid down procedure for acquiring the land,” Malini had said.
“I have not paid anything as of now. I will follow all the rules and regulations of the government. Why speculate the price when I don’t know myself how much I have to payIJ Whatever will be the cost I will pay it,” she had said.
The actress had also said: “My main concentration would be on Bharatanatyam, Odasi and Kathak. I will give importance to all forms of classical dances. As far as teaching dances to actresses in Bollywood, I have not thought of anything. May be one class a week... But, it is my dream to teach classic dances to everyone”.
The actress has been allotted 2,000 square metres land for setting up her dance institute. Besides this, she has to develop a garden on the remaining 27,000 square metres land at Ambivali in Andheri.
“I am getting 2,000 square metres land for building dance institute — Natyavihar Kalakendra Charity Trust,” she said.
The actress said that apart from setting up the dancing academy, she also had to create a garden there and hand it over to the Mumbai civic body. “The garden is besides creating the dance academy... So it is like a white elephant for me,” she gad said.
Countering the Congress’ allegation that the BJP-led government had flouted rules to allot land to Malini, Revenue Minister Eknath Khadse had said: “The state government has not violated any rules in the allotment of land to Hema Malini”.