Daijiworld Media Network - Mumbai

Mumbai, Sep 28: Shiv Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut on Monday alleged a Rs 900 crore illegal land scam in Maharashtra's Konkan region, claiming that prime agricultural and forest land in Sindhudurg district has been transferred to wealthy non-agricultural investors from Bengaluru, Delhi and Hyderabad.

Addressing a press conference in Mumbai, Raut alleged that fertile agricultural land in Vengurla, Sawantwadi and Dodamarg talukas had been systematically transferred to non-farmers in violation of land protection laws.

He referred to Maharashtra's Prevention of Fragmentation and Consolidation of Holdings Act, commonly known as the Tukde Bandi Act, under which the sale of fragmented agricultural land to non-agriculturists without the required statutory permissions is prohibited.

Raut alleged that cabinet ministers and local MLAs from the Konkan region were facilitating the transactions and accused them of working with "outsiders" while acting as real estate brokers.

"A prominent 'Hindutva' cabinet minister from Konkan is acting as an estate agent to hand over local farmers' land to non-locals," he alleged, and demanded that the government disclose the commission earned from such transactions.

Raut did not name the cabinet minister or any of the local MLAs he accused.

He further alleged that while land transactions worth around Rs 900 crore were reflected in official records, substantial amounts of unaccounted cash had also changed hands.

Raut claimed that illegal deforestation was being carried out on several of the acquired plots and that the buyers had already taken physical possession of the land.

He said NCP (SP) leader Jayant Patil had raised the issue earlier, but alleged that the transactions had continued despite the concerns being highlighted.

Raut also accused the state Revenue Department of conducting what he termed a "sham investigation" for the past three years without taking effective enforcement action.

He directly challenged Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to immediately make public all land transfer records in Sindhudurg.

Raut demanded disclosure of the names of all buyers, the alleged facilitators involved in the transactions and the ministers or MLAs who, he claimed, were driving the operations.

He also announced that he would lead a delegation of Shiv Sena (UBT) workers from the region to inspect the disputed sites in Sindhudurg.

The delegation, he said, would assess and highlight the alleged environmental damage and violations of land laws on the ground.

The allegations come amid ongoing scrutiny of land purchases in Sindhudurg. A committee headed by the Konkan Divisional Commissioner is separately examining allegations that agricultural land was purchased by non-farmers in violation of Maharashtra's land laws.