The Pune Municipal Corporation will start the recovery of ₹2.06 crore from land owner who had been given extra compensation during the land acquisition of Salisbury Park garden.
What seemed like a long-drawn case of unending follow-ups and the civic body’s fight with the upper courts to acquire the garden land at Salisbury Park, the PMC was able to save ₹54.77 crore in land acquisition cost.
The land acquisition cost was fixed at ₹71.55 crore in 2009, but PMC had challenged it in the High Court. In 2019, High Court had given decision against the civic body, which prompted PMC to challenge the decision in Supreme Court by objecting to the escalated land acquisition cost.
The Supreme Court, disposed of the case in February 2022 and asked the Pune district collector to fix a new land acquisition cost. The collector on February 28, 2023, fixed the compensation at ₹16.77 crore.
PMC city engineer Prashant Waghmare said, “The PMC had already paid ₹18.83 crore to the land owner and the actual cost was fixed at ₹16.77 crore. The civic body now has to recover ₹2.06 crore which was the extra amount paid to the owner. The PMC will now start recovery process and will also try to recover interest rates from the land owner.”
District collector initiates inquiry in inflated land acquisition cost
{{/usCountry}}District collector initiates inquiry in inflated land acquisition cost
{{/usCountry}}While the Pune district collector Rajesh Deshmukh fixed the land cost at ₹16.77 crore, the matter of the price being inflated to ₹71.55 crore in 2009 and those being involved in the process is still underway. The district collector has initiated an inquiry to check why the cost was inflated. While Deshmukh was not available to comment, officials confirmed that strict action will be taken against those involved.