The controversy surrounding the heavily-in-debt billionaire Vijay Mallya has taken political colour in Goa, with Opposition legislators demanding a high-level probe into the delay by the State administration to attach the former beer baron’s palatial Kingfisher villa
The villa has been named after the iconic beer manufactured by his erstwhile brewery.
With the budget session of the Goa legislative Assembly looming, the Opposition on Saturday collectively demanded a probe into the delay on part of the North Goa district administration to possess the villa, despite the clear directions from the Courts, and hand it over to the consortium of banks to which Mallya owes over `7,000 crore.
“This delay has to be probed. It is not the opposition, but the SBI (State Bank of India) chairperson who is saying that the North Goa Collector did not follow procedure and delayed possession of the Kingfisher villa. This Government is working overtime to ensure that billionaires like lalit Modi and Vijay Mallya flee the country,” said Independent Opposition legislator Vijai Sardesai, suggesting that the issue would be raked up in the upcoming weeklong budget session of the Goa legislative assembly.
The other opposition legislators including Congress MlAs Vishwajeet Rane and Reginaldo lourenco also back the demand for a high level probe, which they claimed “helped ensure that Mallya’s villa was not possessed by the district administration.
The Kingfisher villa located in the tony Candolim beach area is a landmark of sorts and has hosted some of the biggest parties in the state across its three acres of manicured luxury.
Once it is in their possession, the banks expect to fetch around Rs. 90 crore, from the auctioning of the villa which is located in a prime beach front stretch.
The villa hit controversy after State Bank of India chairperson Arundhati Bhattacharya told a national television channel in an interview on Fridaythat the North Goa District Collector’s office had delayed the possession of Kingfisher villa, by continuously dragging the hearings.
The North Goa District administration however maintained that the delay had been caused due to requests for postponements filed by Mallya’s lawyers.
“The High Court has extended the date by which the order in the case related to the possession of Kingfisher villa to May 2016. We still within the time-limit set for us by the High Court,” a senior district administration official told The Pioneer on condition of anonymity.
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