Maha Govt Changes Land Allotment Rule after Hema Malini Land Row

Maharashtra government decides to tighten land rules after facing heat on the Hema Malini land row.

Hema Malini. (Photo: IANS)

Facing heat over allotment of a prime piece of land to actress-turned-politician Hema Malini for a token rate, BJP-led Maharashtra government has decided to tighten the land lease rules to ensure higher rates on allotment of state-owned plots.

While a senior bureaucrat today confirmed that the new policy will ensure “ready reckoner rates” from the beneficiaries, it is not clear whether Malini will have to pay a higher price to take possession of the land allotted.

Yes, we have been asked to look again into the old GR (Government Resolution) issued in 1983 that allows land meant for cultural or educational purposes to be given on lease at 25 per cent of 1976’s ready reckoner rates and come out with a fresh policy

An official from Maharashtra Government.

The land allotment to Malini has run into controversy after RTI activist Anil Galgali brought the issue to the fore and demanded that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis either cancel the allotment or charge the price of the land at market rate. Congress and other opposition parties in the state have dubbed the allotment of land to Malini for her Natyavihar Kala Kendra Charity trust as an act of “favouritism.”

Yes, Chief Minister today informed me that he has directed officials to cancel old GR and come up with a fresh one. This is a really welcome gesture from him and it would save him and his government from further embarrassment

Anil Galgali, RTI activist.

Under fire over the issue, the BJP had earlier defended the land allotment to Malini’s institution saying that it was not the first time that a land for academic purpose was provided to anyone.

An RTI query, also filed by Galgali, revealed that the actress was served notice on the land dealing in 1998 but no follow-up was done by the officials concerned. A PIL seeking direction to the police to file a case against Malini and Revenue Minister Eknath Khadse on the land issue is pending in Bombay High Court.