Vilasrao's role in MIDC land allotment under scanner

Union minister Vilasrao Deshmukh's troubles seem to be increasing, with the Bombay high court on Monday hearing another contention yet to be addressed in the PIL that challenged the allotment of land in Goregaon to filmmaker Subhash Ghai's Whistling Woods International Private Limited (WWIPL).

Union minister Vilasrao Deshmukh's troubles seem to be increasing, with the Bombay high court on Monday hearing another contention yet to be addressed in the PIL that challenged the allotment of land in Goregaon to filmmaker Subhash Ghai's Whistling Woods International Private Limited (WWIPL).

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Part of the petition has taken objection to the allotment of 2 lakh sq m of land belonging to the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) in Latur, to the Vilasrao Deshmukh Foundation (VDF) to set up an educational institution.

The petition filed by Rajendra Sontakke and four others points out that the land was allotted to the charitable trust while Deshmukh served as the chief minister (CM) of Maharashtra.

The petition states the allotment of land was done by MIDC at the instance of the tainted minister for “illegal, mala fide and corrupt considerations”.

The allotment of land to the trust along with that to WWIPL had resulted in adverse comments from the Comptroller Auditor General (CAG) of India in its report for March 31, 2003 to March 31, 2007.

Senior counsel Venkatesh Dhond, who appeared for Deshmukh, argued that the jurisdiction of the court to hear the case would have to be decided as the MIDC land was in Latur while the WWIPL land was in Mumbai.