Green tribunal dismissed Kirit Somaiya’s petition on Sai Resort: Anil Parab
In a new twist to the ongoing Anil Parab-Kirit Somaiya battle, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Parab claimed that the National Green Tribunal (NGT) had declared at its hearing on May 2 that there was no merit in Somaiya’s petition regarding the Sai Resort at Dapoli, and it would be dismissed
Mumbai: In a new twist to the ongoing Anil Parab-Kirit Somaiya battle, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Parab claimed that the National Green Tribunal (NGT) had declared at its hearing on May 2 that there was no merit in Somaiya’s petition regarding the Sai Resort at Dapoli, and it would be dismissed. Following this, claimed Parab, the BJP leader chose the legal option of withdrawing his petition to save face.
Parab, who got a copy of the NGT order on Monday, held a press conference immediately. “The crime on which this entire conspiracy was based was that sewage from the resort was polluting the sea,” he told the media. “But the state government and the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board have given reports that Sai Resort has not yet started operations so there is no question of sewage going into the sea. The tribunal said it would dismiss the case, as the allegation was baseless. So out of fear, Kirit Somaiya withdrew his case.”
Parab added that Somaiya was “cheating” the government by constantly making fake allegations. “After these offences were quashed, he has framed two more,” he said. “I have applied to the high court to quash these. We will prove that they too are false cases. One day, Somaiya will have to tender an apology for these fake allegations or pay me ₹100 crore in the defamation case I have filed against him in the Bombay high court.”
The Somaiya-Parab face-off began about two years ago when the BJP leader alleged that Parab was the owner of Sai Resort at Dapoli. His allegations that Parab had breached environmental laws and that there was black money involved in the construction of the resort led to the Sena (UBT) leader being summoned by the ED for a probe. Sadanand Kadam, Parab’s friend and the owner of the resort, was arrested and is currently in jail.
Parab, on his part, has consistently denied that he has anything to do with the resort. “Because of these allegations, we were probed by the central agencies,” he said. “For the last year and a half, Kirit Somaiya has been defaming me even as I have been saying that there is no truth to the allegations. His withdrawing his petition in the NGT proves it.”
When contacted, Somaiya said that Parab could not afford to talk of being innocent since he was on bail while his alleged partner, Kadam, was in jail. “Half of Sai Resort has been demolished and the rest will be demolished,” he said. “Sadanand Kadam has been in prison for three months. So, for Parab this relief is for a short period. If he goes to the high court or Supreme Court, he will have to reveal where the amount of ₹10.50 crore, which he gave to build the resort, came from. The income-tax department has filed many cases against him. If he is innocent, why was he released on bail and not acquitted?”