Whistleblower has accused Narayan Rane of ignoring circular asking for crackdown on illegal transactions in temple land issued by revenue ministry a few months before his order
Whistleblower has accused Narayan Rane of ignoring circular asking for crackdown on illegal transactions in temple land issued by revenue ministry a few months before his order
IN what could be a case of familiarity breeding contempt, former revenue minister Narayan Rane allegedly ignored an earlier order issued by his own ministry and went ahead with facilitating the illegal sale of land in the Sinnar temple land grab case.
As a result of the order, Chitleshwar Devasthan Trust situated in Sinnar was brought under the tax bracket
S Rathod, IAS (Retd) and former collector of Raigad, said he has laid his hands on a three-page
circular (copy with MiD DAY) issued by the revenue ministry on July 30, 2010.
Addressed to all division commissioners and collectors in the state, with copies endorsed to the state Charity Commissioner, the circular states that all Devastan Inam Land in Maharashtra should be examined.
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It directs the officers to check if any illegal transactions have taken place with respect to such land and, if so, asks them to ensure that the land is restored to the concerned Devastan.
"The irony is that on October 7, 2010, Rane passed an order and removed the Inam label from a 73.11 acre plot belonging to the famous Chitleshwar Devasthan Trust situated in Sinnar and brought it under the tax bracket, thereby converting it from agricultural to non-agricultural," said Rathod.
"By doing so, he facilitated the land's illegal sale, which the earlier July order sought to crackdown upon.
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The impact of Rane's order was that the land was treated as a personal property by its new owners and, in less than a month, 39.11 acres of it, valued at nearly Rs 100 crore, were sold for Rs 2.50 crore," said Sanjay Deshpande, who has filed a PIL about this, in which Rane is an accused, before the Bombay High Court.
Highlights
Rathod explained that the July circular, issued by joint secretary Ramakant Asmar of the revenue department, stated that all Devastan Inam land be visited personally by the divisional commissioner or collector to ensure no encroachment had taken place.
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They were also asked to examine thoroughly whether the land had fallen into the hands of illegal purchasers. It asked them to complete the review by October 5, 2010.
A senior official from the revenue department said, "The circular may have been issued because the revenue department was receiving numerous complaints of illegal transactions taking place with respect to Devastan land."
The Other Side
State Industry Minister Narayan Rane, who was then the revenue minister, had earlier told MiD DAY, "The power to convert non-agricultural land to agricultural land vests with the additional collector and I have no role to play in it. If someone has already filed a PIL before the High Court, we will accept whatever the court has to say. I have no clue about this particular case."
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