Friday, May 20, 2011

Land Robbery in Nagpur-'NMC has no mandate for London Street'-TIMES OF INDIA


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'NMC has no mandate for London Street'

Protection of Rights' founder-president Gopal Kondawar has written to top BJP leaders, including veteran L K Advani, apprising them of the `London Street' proposal. The BJP-controlled civic body wants to execute such outright commercial project on the home turf of its national president Nitin Gadkari, he said urging the party leadership to intervene in the matter. He has also written to chief minister Prithviraj Chavan requesting him to withhold permission to the `London Street' plan

NAGPUR: Lokadhikar Manch, a city-based organization fighting for people's rights, has raised serious doubts on the Nagpur Municipal Corporation's proposed plan to develop a vast stretch of 80-acre land on the famous 'London Street' model. Nitin Chaudhary of the Manch said the NMC has no mandate to carry out such elitist projects. 

In a statement, Chaudhary said the NMC got the land from the defence department by paying Rs 3.29 crore. But it is seeking to turn it into a glitzy, real estate paradise that would bring huge profits to few private investors who would bag the project on BOT basis. "It's an anti-people project and all elected representatives of the civic body should oppose it," he stated. 

"In a welfare state, a civic body is expected to function as a local government wedded to social causes. How can it come out with such money-spinning schemes with an eye only on the high-earning groups and totally ignoring the masses," Chaudhary wondered. "Ironically, the BJP which claims to be a nationalist party is trying to revive imperialistic designs through the NMC that it controls by promoting the London Street," remarked Chaudhary. 

Joining him in opposing the NMC plan, NCP corporator and leader of the party in the civic house Vedprakash Arya said that he would be looking into the fresh plans sent to the government and register his protest. "I will requisition the file and take up the matter with the party leaders to see that such grandiose plans without any legal sanction never materialize," Arya told TOI. He said if the state has given an alternative land to the defence department, there was no way it would approve such commercial plans on government land handed over to the NMC. 

Meanwhile, Centre for Protection of Rights' founder-president Gopal Kondawar has written to top BJP leaders, including veteran L K Advani, apprising them of the `London Street' proposal. The BJP-controlled civic body wants to execute such outright commercial project on the home turf of its national president Nitin Gadkari, he said urging the party leadership to intervene in the matter. He has also written to chief minister Prithviraj Chavan requesting him to withhold permission to the `London Street' plan. 

"It involves mind-blogging sums of money as nearly one crore sq ft of construction will be done to be sold at market rates to make over Rs 1000 crore in profits," he alleged. 

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Dying stages of 'MIHAN'-No cargo arriving by air, Sical-Gupta stops work on road, rail terminal-TIMES OF INDIA

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No cargo arriving by air, Sical-Gupta stops work on road, rail terminal

NAGPUR: The acronym Mihan may stand for Multimodal International Cargo Hub at Nagpur, but the project seems to be far from being one indeed. As conceived in the mid-1990s, it was planned to make a cargo hub operating with rail, road as well as air connectivity. However, work on setting up the rail and road terminal has come to a standstill.

Nagpur Sical Gupta Logistics Limited, a joint venture between, Chennai-based Sical Logistics and Gupta Group of Nagpur, which had bagged the contract to build a rail and road terminal on over 70 hectares of land in 2007 has backed out. It has been over a year that work on the site has remained stalled. The company is apprehensive whether Mihan would generate so much cargo as to make their venture feasible, since otherwise it would be a dead investment for them.

Mihan would be a multimodal cargo hub in the true sense only when connectivity by rail and road is also established. However, even the dedicated air cargo hub has been facing problems and has not started. Deccan 360, which inaugurated its services in 2009-end, never began full-fledged operations.

Nagpur Sical Gupta Logistics is now pressing for new terms and conditions which may ease the financial burden on the company. It has also suggested re-examining of the project, including the entire concept on which Mihan is based. "The company was impressed by MADC's theory of almost 100 aeroplanes overflying Nagpur airport, which would land here to redistribute cargo to different destinations. It was later realized that building a rail and road terminal can be a great risk, unless the cargo is assured. The Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC), which is developing Mihan, has remained non-committal on the issue," said an official in this company.

Originally, MADC was supposed to provide close to 28 acres land for the rail terminal but it came to light later that a part of it was disputed and could not be handed over. Instead, Nagpur Sical was asked to go ahead with the road terminal first. The work was started sometime in 2009 but stopped after a year, as there was no assurance of cargo or handing over of the land for rail terminal, said a source.

"It would have been disastrous indeed if the terminal had been ready and there was no cargo. The company has already spent around Rs 17 crore in the project but it was decided to pull out before the losses mount," said the official.

In between, Nagpur Sical had also proposed that it be allowed to start the rail terminal first. Having one would have enabled it to garner business from outside Mihan also. The region generates enough export cargo, which could have been transported to the ports through the rail terminal.

The road terminal was meant to transport cargo coming from planes landing in Nagpur, which appears to be a distant possibility under the current situation.

Officials at MADC confirmed that Nagpur Sical-Gupta Logistics had stopped work, citing lack of business as the reason. MADC has a 26% stake in the venture, with Gupta Group having chipped in with 23% and Sical having a majority 51% stake.

Friday, April 22, 2011

MIHAN SCAM-MADC rapped for favouring CARE hospitals-TIMES OF INDIA


Thursday, April 21, 2011

Shri. Prafulla Patel blamed for Air-India’s Rs. 7,200 Crore loss- Centre for Protection of Rights Demands C.B.I. probe

Shri. Prafulla Patel  blamed for Air-India’s  Rs. 7,200 Crore loss- Centre for Protection of Rights Demands C.B.I. probe

Nagpur - April 22, 2011

A prominent citizen right protection group in vidarbha has sought action against former civil aviation minister Praful Patel squarely blaming him for pushing the national carrier to bankruptcy during his seven year tenure in the ministry. 

In a letter faxed to prime minister Manmohan Singh on Monday, Kondawar has urged him to order a CBI inquiry against Patel. He alleged that because of total mismanagement of the civil aviation ministry during Patel's tenure that things got from bad do worse and today the national airlines is finding it difficult to even pay salaries to its staff. "Late JRD Tata who so fondly created Air India and took it to glorious heights as world's top airline must be turning in his grave at the miserable condition that it has now landed in. The CAG has also raised serious doubts over Patels' decision of merging Indian Airlines and Air India. Members of parliament have also demanded a white paper and a JPC probe into the affairs of Air India whose accumulated losses had mounted to over Rs 7,000 crore in 2008-09," said Dr. Gopal  Kondawar president of NGO said  in his letter. 

Here is text of letter faxed to Indian prime minister

Quote

 Request to Order High Level Investigations, Enquiry & Action in the style & functioning of Shri. Prafulla Patel as Civil Aviation Minister.


To,

            Manmohan Singh,
            Hon’ble Prime Minister of India,
            PMO,Govt. Of IndiaNew Delhi.

REG : Complaint in the Matter of Huge loss caused to National Aviation Company of India Limited (NACIL) which controls Air India, the National Airlines of India

Sub:    Request to Order High Level Investigations, Enquiry & Action in the style & functioning of Shri. Prafulla Patel as Civil Aviation Minister for a period of Seven Years which caused huge loss to National Aviation Company of India Limited (NACIL) which controls Air India, the National Airlines of India :
 Request to take immediate action on Mr. Patel to remove him from Union Council of Ministers and to institute criminal prosecution for wilful loss caused to NACIL by Minister Mr. Praful Patel during his tenure for his pecuniary advantages gained out of decisions taken by his Civil Aviation Ministry during his tenure.

Hon’ble Sir,

I am citizen of India and living at the address mentioned hereinabove. I am post graduate in the faculty of Science and also completed My Doctoral degree in the department of  Mathematics. I have contributed for the cause of upliftment of Education, building construction and infrastructure development in an around Vidarbha Region of Maharashtra State. Now I am devoting my time for the cause of Protection of Rights as Guaranteed by  the Constitution of India, as a Founder President of Centre for Protection of Rights, which is a unit of SMILE charitable trust, registered NGO at Maharashra.

Sir, I am very much disturbed to know the rampant corruption and mis management of National Aviation Company of India Limited (NACIL) which controls Air India, the National Airlines of India. When I thoroughly examined the aspects behind the gross failures of  NACIL, I came to know most shocking and serious involvement of Mr. Prafulla  Patel  who had been functioning as Minister in charge of the Civil Aviation Department  of Govt. of India during period May 2004 to November 2010.

The details of the  malfunctioning and mis management of National Aviation Company of India Limited (NACIL) due to active roll &  involvement of Mr. Prafulla Patel are as under :-

1.      The seven years tenure of Mr. Prafulla Patel of Ministry of Civil Aviation during your tenure as Prime Minister has been marked with greed in relation to misuse of power for the purpose of personal monetary gain.  However, I take this opportunity to point out a few things and request you that you can set out a precedence since no other Prime Minister has shown courage to order CBI enquiry in Department of Civil Aviation during the tenure of Mr. Prafulla Patel as Minister of Civil Aviation before it was handed over to Mr. Vayalar Ravi, who is supposed to be non corrupt politician till this date.
2.      Late JRD Tata the founder of Air India during whose tenure for 7 years Air India was No.2 Airlines in the world and for one year No.1 in the world, must be turning in his grave as he could not have imagined that the airline which he started with utmost care and personal attention could come to pass that it would not be able to pay employees salary and the Ministry and its in-charge will indulge into such kind of corruption which he never dreamt of.  I hope that the dreams which are seen by Late JRD Tata for India must be also your dream.
3.      I am sure since you are a scholarly person with international acclaim, because of behaviour of your colleagues in Ministry, including Mr. Prafulla Patel, you must be every day reminded of the speech of Winston Churchill, the then Prime Minister of Britain, when India was granted freedom .  Of course, what he forecast in his speech we have gone miles ahead than that and thanks to your colleagues for that.  However, I am restricting presently only about the misconduct and laundering of money for personal gain plundering the govt.treasure and putting one of the finest airlines in a situation of liquidation though the Companies Act and merging it with Air India. But the fact remains that the Air India has already become bankrupt and is not in a position to pay the salary unless the Government of India helps it.  Therefore, my first demand is that, let there be a movement by the employees of Air India for non payment of salary and let the Airlines be closed because of that, and situation arisen due to decision taken by Mr. Patel of emerging Indian Airlines with Air India for personal monetary gain and in total disregard to the policy of the Government and in abuse of power.
4.      The Central Government should not pay a single rupee to Air India unless the money which is swindled and looted by Mr. Prafulla Patel during his seven years tenure is recovered.  Now, in support of this I quote few examples.
1.      Air India controlled by Ministry of Civil Aviation under Mr. Prafulla Patel has caused huge loss of Rs.5,000 crore in 2008-09 and accumulated losses expected at Rs.7,200 crore., primarily due to awarding bilateral rights to foreign airlines on routes where AI had traditionally made profits, purchase of aircraft and pulling out the carrier from profitable and busy domestic routes.
2.      Non-Congress members have also demanded a white paper and a probe by Joint Parliamentary Committee into the affairs of Air India for such huge loss of Rs.5,000 crore in 2008-09 and accumulated losses expected at Rs.7,200 crore.
3.      It is not understood and not known why new planes were being bought from two different companies, and why AI was giving away bilateral rights to international airlines.  Giving the specific instance of Emirates, Mr. Patel said that while the Gulf-based airline was operating 185 flights every week to various destinations in India, Air India could, in return, operate a meagre 20-25.This itself begs an answer !
4.      In the Parliament on the queries made by Hon’ble Members, Mr.Patel said the government was planning equity infusion in AI and soft loan, something that has never been done in its 60-year history.  He justified acquisition of new fleet on the ground that it was ageing and despite new arrivals, only 55 of 111 airlines have been received, average age of planes is 15 years.
5.      Admitting that despite merger, a solution has not been found in three years, Patel ascribed continuing losses to global recession which has resulted in losses by airline companies throughout the world.  He also said surge in oil prices has adversely impacted the cost of operation and contributed to bad financial health.
6.      There is one project which is coming in Nagpur called MIHAN and several acres of land has been acquired paying compensation of thousands of crore rupees. In direct contravention of Air Craft Act
7.      The another reason for bankruptcy of Air India is allowing foreign Airlines to operate on All Routes and Mr. Patel has maintained in Parliament that this decision is Right, however, the implementation is poor.
8.      That Prafulla Patel is involved in bungling can be proved beyond doubt by the following facts:
·         Praful Patel’s actions as Civil Aviation Minister have led Air India to loss and disaster.
·         Indian Airlines change to Air India was Mr. Patel’s decision but it did not make any difference for better.  Then Indian Airlines was merged with Air India.  The merger was supposed to save money.  Things went from bad to worse.
·         Air India suffered. Private airlines prospered.  For months some of them did not pay fuel bills.  During IPL Air India passengers had to wait for hours as scheduled flights were delayed to fly IPL teams.
·         When private airlines increased fares, Paul Patel did not tell passengers to fly Air India.  He told private airlines to reduce fare and threatened them if they did not do so.  What is Praful Patel’s problem if private airlines charge “Astronomical” fares? Why can’t Air India use this opportunity?  Air India could have gained.  It needs Thousands of Crores of Rupees to keep going.
·         Praful Patel has asked for extra Rs.3,500 crore  for Air India from the Treasury of Govt. of India, and has warned of strikes by Air India employees if wages were not paid.  Air India has an accumulated loss of Rs. 7,200 Crore and working capital loans of around Rs. 18,000 Crore Praful Patel is responsible for the mess.
·         People’s money should not be wasted on Air India.  If there is no possibility of improvement without spending further money, it should be privatised or wound up.  Employees who go on strike can find jobs somewhere else. Having committed such mess as Civil Aviation Minister Mr. Praful Patel has no right to continue as Minister in your Cabinet
9.      Apart from Mr. Patel, the tribe of babus and netas is squarely responsible for bringing Air India to this state.  Air India which is now Indian Airlines and the old-time Air India together, is making a daily loss of Rs. 11 Crore.  What’s worse, there is no hope on the horizon – NACIL, the aviation company would continue to bleed.  The aviation minister says an infusion of $3 billion may be required to put the airline on keel.  But the question is : Where is the money in these times of slowdown?  Moreover, with a bloated staff strength of over 30,000, which airlines can run profitably?  The company’s annual losses in the last fiscal (2008-09) stood at Rs.5,000 crore, up from Rs.2,226 crore in the year before.
For decades the babu-neta combine has treated India’s national carrier as a milch cow that would pamper their personal whims.  This is even as politics and bureaucratic delays have characterized decision making in Air India.  For a decade and a half, the management of the airline could not decide what plane to buy to modernize and augment its fleet.  As Boeing and Airbus lobbied and counter-lobbied, files went to and forth but no decision could be taken.  Meanwhile, the losses of the airline mounted.  In the mid-nineties, Air India made a loss of roughly a little over Rs.300 crore annually – that is Rs.1 crore per day.  It may not be out of place to point out that the IAS lobby has fully captured Air India and Indian Airlines for the last 20 years with the chairman and managing director of the two airlines coming from this service.
10.  Now, tracing the history Late JRD Tata, when he started Air India in 1956, had envisaged it as the soft arm of Indian diplomacy, visible across the globe as the face of India.  “But today with 182 weekly flights from India, soon to go up to 193 flights, Emirates Air could well qualify as the national carrier of India,” says an aviation analyst sarcastically.  “Nobody but the babus and netas want to travel by it.  And one reason for this is the convoluted routes that they have.  My sister who stays in Chennai wanted to fly to Chicago.  Air India routed her from Chennai to Delhi, then from Delhi to Frankfurt and from there to Chicago.  In contrast foreign airlines would have taken her from Chennai to Chicago with a stop in either Dubai or Abu Dhabi.  Why should anyone want to travel by Air India?”  The analyst asks.All through the nineties, Air India could not take advantage of bilateral aviation agreements with other countries that entitles airlines to run flights to these countries.  This is because Air India did not have a big enough fleet.  Since Air India could not exploit them, these slots to which India was entitled lapsed.  But in later years Jet Airways has taken up a few slots.
11.   The ulterior motive and personal gain at the cost of national interest were the only two aims of the Ministry of Civil Aviation led by Mr. Praful  Patel for seven years and that of bade babus, IAS officers, and others and, therefore, inspite of all these misdeeds apart from the following I recommend that if you feel inspite of all these misdeeds of Civil Aviation Minister and not having over the matter to CBI for investigation and direct that Mr. Praful Patel should be in jail till the investigation is completed and charge sheet is filed against him and his sycophant bade babus, IAS officers and other officers involved and released on bail by competent court as the court will not do in view of the Lokpal Bill which is likely to come under which even the Supreme Court Judges comes within the purview of the said Bill, then kindly award a Bharat  Ratna to him because no other Minister has indulged into such kind of corruption.
The statistic speaks about the malafide of Mr. Patel
In 2006-07, the year before the merger, IA and AI made a combined loss of Rs.740 crore.  In the first year of combined operations (2007-08) this loss jumped to Rs.2,267 crore.  The next year, 2008-09, the losses rose to Rs.5,000 crore.  Sources tell me that in the period April,-August of 2009, the combined airline has already made a loss of Rs.2,000 crore.  In other words, the airline has in the last three years since integration chalked up a loss of over Rs.10,800 crore.  That is equivalent to $2.6 billion.
The loss of $2.6 billion comes even as the airline is planning to induct 43 Airbus aircraft into the former IA segment.  The cost of the acquisition is roughly the same as this $2.6 billion.  But that money, which would be required for the new inductions, has already been lost!
12.  Therefore, I respectfully pray and demand –
                                           I.            That, entire tenure of Shri. Praful Patel as a Civil Aviation Minister for 7 years and all the decisions taken therein should be examined by CBI or by giving investigation to the some independent investigation agency by the Prime Minister himself as it comes under your office and setting out a precedence for the future Prime Minister to come and throw him out of the Cabinet and a direction be issued that during the pendency of investigation, he should remain  out of cabinet and also the sycophant babus who are involved in the decision making process and in committing dacoit on the treasury of our country they should not be spared unless the orders are passed by the competent court after filing of charge sheet.
                                        II.            Similarly, their properties should be confiscated and will remain under the custody till they prove their innocence  OR IN THE ALTERNATIVE
a.       on behalf of 125 Crore people of India, you being an Honest Prime Minister  your reputation as a man of integrity has taken a beating due to the actions of such corrupt people in your cabinet. I request you, as an  earnest citizen of India to redeem yourself by removing people like Mr. Prafulla Patel to task and set an example.
I hope and trust that either of demand made by me will be acceptable to you and you will take cognizance of my complaint and I will be one of the fortunate citizens of India to get reply from an honest Prime Minister, who will set out a new precedence, who will make people of India proud.
With this hope and trust I close.
Thanking you in anticipation.
Yours sincerely,
(Dr.Gopal Laxman Kondawar)
Founder President – Centre for Protection of Rights

unquote

 letter has raise certain questions regarding the decision of minister ordering to Stop operations in busy and profitable domestic routes, not using bilateral agreements with countries to start overseas flights, placing of large orders for new aircraft from Boeing and Airbus when Air India could ill-afford it, were among the issues that need to be probed, he said.

 

"Unmindful of threat of a major coalition partner (DMK) pulling out of the UPA, the prime minister gave clearance for action against telecom minister A Raja when allegations of corruption in 2-G spectrum scam were raised. I am hopeful that the PM will show the same courage in ordering inquiry against Patel who belongs to the NCP," said Kondawar

"Patel's announcement that Boeing was starting its MRO in Mihan has not materailsed till date. It was just an eyewash," wrote Kondawar demanding that Patel be kept out of the cabinet of ministers till investigations against his role as aviation minister are completed," he said.

NGO is moving in the Supreme Court if Indian Prime Minister failed  sack the concerned corrupt minister.

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Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Mihan landscam-Cornered Reatox seeks land denotification-HITAVADA

Mihan landscam-Cornered Reatox seeks land denotification


Staff Reporter

March 25, 2011. The Board of Approvals (BoA) of the Union Ministry of
Commerce directed the Development Commissioner, MIHAN, “to take strict
action directly and through the agencies concerned in the matter and
submit a report” about the flagrant violation of SEZ Act by Reatox
Builders and Developers, the developers of housing project ‘First
City’. The Board had taken a serious view of the fact that the builder
had sought to sell the housing apartments to non-SEZ parties.
March 26, 2011. Reatox makes an application to the Development
Commissioner of MIHAN to have the 31 acres of land under its
development regime denotified.
The dubious link between the two events, on two consecutive dates, is obvious.
Cornered by the tough stance taken by the BoA, the builder now is
trying a slimy way out of the complex web of mistakes he has been
committing for all these years.
After ‘The Hitavada’ took the violations to the court of people and
after the Government of Maharashtra asked the Big Boss of Maharashtra
Airport Development Company (MADC) R C Sinha to resign on account of
his inexplicable favours to Reatox, the builder found himself at the
losing end of the story -- having to endure days without any
prospective buyers visiting his offices, his advertisement campaigns
meeting with cold response from the market. The prospective buyers had
only simple questions to ask: Can we buy the flats legally? Will that
be a safe transaction? Are you authorised to sell the flats to
outsiders?
Finding it tough to answer these questions, the builder has now tried
a new trick -- have the land denotified from the notified Special
Economic Zone -- so that he can escape from the grip of the SEZ Act.
Of course, things are never going to easy for Reatox. For, Development
Commissioner (MIHAN) Ved Prakash is not willing to budge. He confirmed
that co-developer M/s Reatox Builders and Developers has made the
application for denotification. But his office has responded by saying
that the builder has no right and authority to make such a request.
For, he is only a co-developer with the MADC. Only MADC can make such
an application, but the final decision rests only with the Board of
Approvals.
As of now, the harsh reality for Reatox is that it has no locus standi
no matter how keenly it wants to have the land denotified. Another
part of the harsh reality, thus, is that it will have to device a
newer trick to convince prospective buyers and also to retain the
loyalty of people who were tricked into buying the flats already.
There are many other and complex issues involved:
1. The disapproval of the Board of Approvals and its directive to the
Development Commissioner (MIHAN) to take stern action has come after
the meeting attended by as many as 38 top-notch bureaucrats who
realised the fraud taking place in Nagpur SEZ.
2. The effort to have the land denotified tantamount to gobbling up
the land acquired for a totally different and sublime purpose of
development.
3. Denotification would also mean that the poor farmers whose lands
have been acquired cheaply have no way to get justice.
4. Another interpretation of denotification is that under that
arrangement, the developer (that is the MADC), and the co-developer
(that is Reatox) will have a field day to handle the denotified land
in any manner they wish.

BOX 1

Prosecute Reatox, Sinha, demand activists
Shocked by this audacious behaviour, Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti
President Kishor Tiwari has demanded criminal prosecution of M/s
Reatox Developer and R C Sinha- then Vice-Chairman and Managing
Director of MADC for cheating people of Nagpur and Vidarbha and
snatching lands from farmers on a false pretext. Like Adarsha
Co-Operative building, the First City towers should be pulled down
immediately, he demanded.
President of Citizens Forum and social activist Baba Dawre who is
fighting against land acquisition for MIHAN also echoed the same
feelings and demanded that lands acquired by misleading farmers and
people of Central India, should be returned them with immediate
effect. If the land was required for township of private builder, why
our farmers were deprived from getting fair compensation and a share
in profit. Then everybody lectured us to make a sacrifice for a
project of national importance that would generate lakhs of jobs- but
in the end we have few greedy builders who are making money on our
land, he lamented while lashing out at supporters of First City and
MADC.

They want their land back!

First City is coming on 31 acres of land (Survey Numbers 9, 10, 12,
14, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 40, 47, 48, 49 and 50 in Mouza Khapri)
originally owned by Bhagwan Dahane, Sheshrao Mahakalkar and other
farmers of Khapri village.
Bhagwan Dahane and his family got a paltry Rs. 11 lakh from the sale
of their 2.52-hectare land on Survey Numbers 20, 21 and 22. Sheshrao
Mahakalkar’s family got a compensation of only Rs 5.50 lakh for its
ancestral land 1.5 hectares at Survey Number 49 and 50.
The Government had acquired 6.12 hectares of land of Ushabai Rathod at
Rs 31.67 lakh, 3.78 hectares of land of Satish Rathod at Rs 17.46
lakh, 2 hectares of land of Daulat Mashram at Rs 8.56 lakh, 3.69
hectares of land of Govinda Sontakke at Rs 19.34 lakh, 1.72 hectares
of land of Gyandeshwar Sontakke at Rs 5.85 lakh, 0.36 hectares of land
Leheji Masram at Rs 1.27 lakh, 0.74 hectares of land of Fakira Masram
at of Rs 2.52 lakh, 0.58 hectares of land of Rodba Sayam at Rs 2 lakh,
2.18 hectares of land of Yamuna Yadavrao Dandekar at Rs 6.71 lakh,
0.97 hectares of land of Kamlabai Rambhau Zade at Rs 3 lakh and 1.5
hectares of land of Mahakalkar family at Rs 5.50 lakh.
They have a common demand- we want our land back and with compensation
as per prevailing market rate. Why should MADC make profit at their
cost and why should a private builder reap dividend in the name of
public project despite violating every rule

Monday, January 17, 2011

Shivangaon villagers happy to see Sinha go-TIMES OF INDIA

Shivangaon villagers happy to see Sinha go-TIMES OF INDIA
Shishir Arya, TNN, Jan 18, 2011, 01.26am IST
NAGPUR: RC Sinha's sudden exit from the Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC) has left the project affected persons (PAPs) jubilant. Those in Shivangaon village, which has been at the forefront of protests against the project, are now in a festive mood. However, the residents of this village want that Sinha should not be allowed to leave just like that, and must be subjected to an inquiry for the alleged irregularities during his tenure.

"Sinha remained a villain for the villagers here. Now, as he leaves all of a sudden, he should also be made answerable for his decisions, especially for allotting land to Satyam Computers. He gave away over 130 acres to this scam-tainted company at a very low rate. Not only this, the land encircles a lake spread across 100 acres, which led to the water body being given away free to the company," said Ramesh Surankar, a local resident. There are apprehensions that the company may have eventually let the lake dry up to use the land.

Most villagers are hoping that Sinha is replaced by a more considerate person. "Sinha had a dictatorial attitude and was bent upon taking over Shivangaon village for building the proposed second runway for the Mihan project. The villagers had been insisting that the runway should be built at a different site, but to no avail. It is expected that the new officer will have a different view," said Sheshrao Dhoke, a village council member.

Dhoke said even as their fields have been formally acquired, the villagers have not given up possession as they want a higher compensation. Even as they may settle for a higher compensation for their fields, the villagers are adamant on not vacating their village, which has been earmarked under the second runway. "In a recent meeting between the village council members and officials of the Indian Air Force's (IAF), Il-76 base, the former have stressed that the village will not be vacated under any circumstances," he added.

The IAF too is an interested party as it will be moving its base to a new site, with the present location being taken over by MADC. However, it would only move if it is ensured a second runway, which depends on the Shivangaon villagers moving out.

Baba Dawre, leader of PAPs from this village, said Sinha should not be replaced by another retired bureaucrat. A serving officer cannot be as autocratic as Sinha was, he said since he has to be answerable to the government and any taint would spoil his career.

Read more: Shivangaon villagers happy to see Sinha go - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/Shivangaon-villagers-happy-to-see-Sinha-go/articleshow/7308139.cms#ixzz1BMuE4HLS