Maharashtra min Khadse cancels land allotted to Chhagan Bhujbal, family

The land allotment first came under scanner after Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) on India in 2012 had passed strictures for ‘undue favour’ to the

Amid a series of allegations of wrongdoing against him, revenue minister Eknath Khadse has cancelled the allotment of a 22-acre plot to a controversial educational institute run by Chhagan Bhujbal and his family in Nashik.

File Photo of NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal and his son Pankaj Bhujbal at Vidhan Bhavan in Mumbai. (Hindustan Times)

The state government had given the plot to Mumbai Education Trust (MET) to extend its campus. The decision to revoke the order, issued on May 30, based on a proposal by the Nashik collector that the two land parcels (measuring 22.56 acres) should be taken back for violation of terms and conditions that were imposed at the time of allotting the land.

“The educational institute (MET) has clearly violated the terms and conditions. The proposal made by Nashik collector to take back the plot has been accepted and the allotment orders dated November 6, 2003, and January 1, 2009, should be cancelled. The land parcels should be taken back in the possession of the revenue department,” said the order passed by Khadse.

Reacting to this development, Pankaj Bhujbal, MET trustee and Chhagan Bhujbal’s son, said the government decision will be challenged. “This is a deliberate attempt by the BJP government to target us, which is being unjust with MET,” he said.