Rahejas got SEZ land in 9 days, others wait a year Devika Sequeira, Panaji, Dec 10, DHNS: [email protected]
When N C Raheja of K Raheja Corporation came calling for an SEZ (special economic zone) in Goa in early 2006, the mega developer got the land in less than 10 days. It takes a minimum of six months to a year for the less influential to get an allotment through the Goa Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC). This is just one among the many glaring deviations and irregularities exposed in an exhaustive criminal complaint filed before Goa’s Director General of Police Aditya Arya by the BJP leader Manohar Parrikar. Among those named in the complaint are former chief minister Pratapsingh Rane, now the Speaker of the Goa Assembly, former industries minister Luizinho Faleiro who is in the Congress’ central working committee and GIDC Chairman Babu Kavlekar. Following mounting public anger on the streets the Goa government scrapped all the SEZs here in December 2007. But that, says Parrikar, is no excuse for not acting against those who colluded in the illegal allotments causing huge losses to the exchequer. The Comptroller and Auditor General’s 2008 report had said the “irregularities and undue favours” to some SEZ allotees had cost the state over Rs 102 crore. Parrikar says losses from the dodgy deals would be closer to Rs 400 crore with Rs 50 crore paid out in kickbacks. The government, then under Rane, had given in principle approvals to 15 SEZs, but only three of them, Cipla’s Meditab Specialities, Piramal’s Peninsula Pharma and Raheja’s ITES park, had been notified at the time the Digambar Kamat government scrapped them. While Cipla and Peninsula got over 12 lakh sq metres each at a throwaway price of Rs 80 per sq metre in Keri and Sancoale, Raheja got nearly 32 lakh sq metres at the Verna industrial estate at a discounted Rs 600 per sq metre, though prices at the much-in demand estate were already at Rs 750 per sq metre. Parrikar’s complaint details how the Rane government short-circuited procedures to accommodate these companies. On April 11, 2006, N C Raheja writes to the Goa chief minister expressing interest in setting up an SEZ. The next day (April 12,2006) K Raheja Corp submits an application with a DD dated April 13,2006 for Rs 25 lakh as security deposit. April 14, 2006 is a Good Friday and a government holiday in Goa. Nonetheless Pratapsingh Rane endorses the request with the remark: ‘Please help these people’. A letter dated April 17, 2006 from the Rahejas arrives at GIDC for the land. It encloses a DD for Rs 15 lakh dated April 15, 2006. On April 20, 2006 GIDC issues a letter to the Rahejas to pay Rs 9,50,07,840 for the land, and a DD dated April 18,2006 issued from Mumbai for the amount is in the GIDC office that very day. Magical coincidence Such a “magical coincidence” would have not been possible without a planned conspiracy, says Parrikar. Cipla too got the land at “breakneck speed” he says, without proper application or the requisite processing fees and deposits. No expressions of interest were invited and allotments were made without any kind of selection process to benefit a coterie at a huge cost to the state. Minutes of the GIDC meetings too were tampered with and records forged. Parrikar said he was due to bring out a public accounts committee report of the SEZ violations, but the Speaker dropped him from the chair after his report on mining. Rane who denied any direct involvement in the SEZ allotments said he had endorsed Raheja’s letter “in good faith” because he wanted jobs to come to Goa. http://www.deccanherald.com/content/210793/rahejas-got-sez-land-9.html --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Protect Goa's natural beauty Support Goa's first Tiger Reserve Sign the petition at: http://www.goanet.org/petition/petition.php ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
