State reserves ND Studios’s land; to participate in auction

Desai committed suicide in August this year after defaulting on loans worth ₹252 crore. He left behind voice notes alleging a finance company was responsible for his troubles, and a case related to his studio is currently pending before the National Company Law Tribunal

Nagpur: The Maharashtra government has reserved the land of ND Studio in Karjat, owned by the deceased art director Nitin Chandrakant Desai, for the studio. The government will also participate in the auction of the studio so that it can own a state-of-the-art facility for shooting of serials and films in Marathi and other languages, said cultural affairs minister Sudhir Mungantiwar.

Navi Mumbai, India - Aug. 4, 2023:ND Studio at Karjat in Raigad district in Navi Mumbai, India, on Friday, August 4, 2023. (Photo by Bachchan Kumar/ HT PHOTO) (HT PHOTO)

“We do not want anything other than a studio to come up on the land. Hence, we have reserved it for the studio,” said Mungantiwar, adding that reservation would help save the land from builders.

Desai committed suicide in August this year after defaulting on loans worth ₹252 crore. He left behind voice notes alleging a finance company was responsible for his troubles, and a case related to his studio is currently pending before the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).

“The state government never settles any debt taken from private entities. We will bid for the studio when it goes for auction, depending on the NCLT ruling,” said the cultural affairs minister. The decision to participate in the auction was taken during a meeting with chief minister Eknath Shinde and deputy chief ministers Ajit Pawar and Devendra Fadnavis, said Mungantiwar.

He stated that once acquired, the studio would be run by the government and rented out for shooting Marathi serials and films at concessional rates.