Gujarat GST official purchased 640 acres of land in Satara; all rules violated, alleges Wadettiwar

Mumbai, Jul 9 (PTI) Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra legislative assembly, Vijay Wadettiwar, on Tuesday said a GST department official posted in Gujarat has purchased 640 acres land in environmentally sensitive region in Satara district, and alleged that all rules have been violated in the process.

Speaking in the Lower House of the state legislature during a debate on the budgetary demands, he said the land concerned is located in Kandati Valley in Satara.

“A Gujarat Goods and Services Tax (GST) department official has purchased 640 acres of land in Satara. All rules have been violated in the purchase of the land. Roads have been constructed on the forest land and no permission has been sought from the revenue department before the digging work on the land under its jurisdiction. This has resulted in loss to the revenue department,” he said.

“The entire area is environmentally sensitive. Illegal construction is on, the jungle is being plundered and there is a threat to the environment,” the Congress leader said.

He also alleged corruption in the land acquisition for the proposed Virar-Alibag multimodal corridor.

“In 30 to 35 villages located along the route of the project, middlemen are involved in acquiring the land of the locals. Farmers have taken objection to the compensation given to them,” he said.

Alleging a “huge scam” in the land acquisition process, Wadettiwar demanded an inquiry.