Land allocation to BJP leader Bawankule's trust sparks controversy in Maharashtra

The trust issued a statement asserting that the state cabinet had approved the land allocation and that the trust intended to use the land for social causes

Mumbai: Controversy has erupted over a state cabinet proposal to allocate 5.04 hectares of land to the Shri Mahalaxmi Jagdamba Sansthan, a trust headed by Chandrashekhar Bawankule, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state unit chief in Maharashtra.

BJP state unit chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule. (HT PHOTO)

Amidst opposition criticism, the trust issued a statement on Wednesday, asserting that the state cabinet had approved the land allocation and that the trust intended to use the land for social causes.

Dattuji Samritkar, secretary of the trust, said, "In 2023, the trustees of Shri Mahalaxmi Jagdamba Sansthan unanimously decided to develop the Sevananda Vidyalaya. After preparing the plan, we requested 5.04 hectares of land from the Maharashtra government. Based on that, the government has decided to allocate 5.04 hectares for a junior college and Sevanand Nursing College. The trust will pay ₹1.46 crore to the government, as we proposed in our earlier application."

Samritkar further stated that Bawankule had unanimously joined the board of trustees in 2014 and has been serving as president since 2019. He emphasised that the land would be used to provide education to students in rural areas.

"The trust will fulfil its responsibility of using the land allocated by the state government for the correct cause. We will develop an educational institute with the motive of social work, not for profit," Samritkar added.

Opposition parties, however, have criticised the state government over the issue. Sanjay Raut, a prominent opposition figure, said, "In the regime of the Mahayuti government, people have seen many land scams. Once upon a time, there was a slogan by Vinoba Bhave 'Sab Bhumi Gopal ki', but in this BJP-led regime, the manner in which land scams are occurring, we can say that 'Sab Bhumi Devabhau (Devendra Fadnavis) ki... and they will distribute plots to their people as they want."

Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar argued that such proposals should be cancelled if the Finance Department raised objections.

The controversy stems from a proposal submitted to the Maharashtra cabinet on Monday for the allocation of 5.04 hectares to the Shri Mahalaxmi Jagdamba Sansthan at Koradi near Nagpur. The Finance Department had objected to the direct allocation, noting that the trust did not meet the criteria outlined in the land allocation policy dated 25 July 2019.

The department's remarks highlighted that the trust lacked the required experience in higher and technical education as per the 2019 government norms and had not undertaken any exceptional or significant work. "Considering all these facts, we cannot agree to the demand for direct allocation of land," the Finance Department stated.

Following these objections, the Revenue Department amended its proposal, suggesting to "follow the procedure as prescribed in policy".