Is Maha Minister Sanjay Shirsat Linked to Rs 5,000 Crore Scam in CIDCO Land?

Mumbai, Aug 18 (NationPress) NCP (SP) legislator Rohit Pawar accused the social justice minister and Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Shirsat of being embroiled in a corruption scandal amounting to Rs 5,000 crore. This allegation stems from Shirsat's time as chairman of the state-owned City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO), where he allegedly allocated 15 acres of land to the Bivalkar family in Navi Mumbai, which he claims resulted in betrayal of local landowners.

Pawar has called for Minister Sirsat's resignation and urged Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to establish a special task force led by a retired judge to investigate this scandal.

Sanjay Shirsat served as CIDCO chairman during Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's tenure.

This accusation follows a recent incident where Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut released a video allegedly depicting Sirsat with a large bag of cash at his residence, urging Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and Chief Minister Fadnavis to take action.

Pawar stated, “The Bivalkar family’s proposal had been denied for years due to various laws and regulations. Yet, in his inaugural meeting as CIDCO chairman, Sirsat disregarded these rules and awarded 15 acres of land to them. This land's market value is estimated at Rs 5,000 crore, which could have facilitated the construction of 10,000 homes for the underprivileged.”

Despite efforts to contact Vijay Singhal, vice-chairman and managing director of CIDCO, and Minister Sirsat, they have not responded.

According to Pawar, the situation traces back to the British colonial period when the Bivalkar family received over 4,000 acres of land for aiding the British against the Maratha Empire across 15 villages in present-day Roha, Panvel, Alibaug, and Uran tehsils.

Pawar elaborated, “Claiming it as a personal gift, they initially preserved the lands from the Bombay Personal Inams Abolition Act, 1952, and subsequently registered them as reserved forest before the land ceiling act in 1961. However, their entire land was ceded to the government under the Maharashtra Private Forest Acquisition Act in 1975. Despite their objections and multiple court appeals, the High Court ruled in favor of the Bivalkar family in 2014. The government later appealed to the Supreme Court, which stayed the ruling.”

Following CIDCO's scheme for Project Affected Persons (PAPs), the family applied for benefits under the 12.5 percent scheme in 1993, but CIDCO rejected their application multiple times.

Pawar emphasized, “Even though CIDCO reports opposed granting 12.5 percent land to the family, Sanjay Shirsat approved the file in his first meeting, thereby providing 61,000 square meters of land valued at Rs 5,000 crore. A tripartite agreement for 8,000 square meters of land has already been signed.”

The NCP (SP) plans to stage a protest led by the party’s state unit chief, Shashikant Shinde, at the CIDCO office on Wednesday.