Bandra plot to remain with Associated Journals

The Maharashtra government has no plans to take back a premium 3,400-square-foot plot in Bandra (east) allotted in 1983 to the firm that ran the now-defunct Congress-linked newspaper National Herald to build a Nehru memorial library and research centre.

The Maharashtra government has no plans to take back a premium 3,400-square-foot plot in Bandra (east) allotted in 1983 to the firm that ran the now-defunct Congress-linked newspaper National Herald to build a Nehru memorial library and research centre.

HT Image

The government says Associated Journals Limited has got the relevant extensions and paid the stipulated fees and can therefore keep the plot till the lease expires in December 2014. Maharashtra’s land rules state that if a plot is not used within two years for the purpose it is allotted, the government can take it back.

“According to our records, the company has sought relevant permissions and extensions from time to time. They have also paid all the dues in terms of lease rent even in advance till the time it expires on December 31, 2014. So where is the question of taking it back?” Mumbai suburban collector Sanjay Deshmukh told HT.

Activist Anil Galgali wrote to CM Prithviraj Chavan demanding that the land be taken back.