It has now come to light that over 200 individuals, including government officials and journalists, who had access to early project information, travelled to Barsu between 2019 and early 2022 and bought land at a discount with the knowledge that they could profit handsomely when the government eventually acquired land for the project. The Maharashtra government announced in October 2019 that it will be purchasing 2300 acres of property in the lush coastal region of Barsu-Solgaon in Ratnagiri. This announcement was made by the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation. The corporation did not explain why it required such a sizable piece of property, which was 459 miles from Mumbai.
The bureaucratic world is, however, becoming less opaque, and soon after the MIDC announcement, farmers and residents of Barsu-Solgaon witnessed a swarm of out-of-town sahebs arriving to purchase large areas of land. They didn’t find that the refinery was moving from Nanar to their area until late 2021. The refinery is a joint venture worth 100,000 crores involving three oil-related PSUs and the Saudi energy giant Aramco.
It has now come to light that over 200 people, including journalists and government officials who had access to early project information, travelled to Barsu between 2019 and the beginning of 2022 and bought land at bargain prices with the knowledge that they would profit handsomely when the government eventually acquired land for the project.
These transactions have now emerged as the focal focus of villager opposition to the construction of the refinery. There is nothing wrong with officers, businesspeople, or politicians purchasing property in Barsu, but the land was purchased there even before the villagers were informed that the refinery was moving from Nanar to Barsu-Solgaon. According to Sanjay Parab, the state secretary of the Janata Dal, who has joined the demonstrators, these officials misled the farmers into believing that they were purchasing the land parcels for horticulture projects and agricultural uses. “The land parcels were purchased for dirt cheap, but once the project is completed, the prices will soar.”
These sales have caused such a stir in Barsu that industries minister Uday Samant launched an investigation on Saturday. They consist of Revaji Rathod, the father of IAS officer Sandeep Rathod from Tripura, who purchased 13.75 acres in February 2020 for $27.5 lakh. Sandeep Rathod was at this time serving a longer-than-two-year assignment to Maharashtra. Poonam Ombase, an assistant GST Commissioner, paid 12 lakhs in November 2020 to purchase a 6.7-acre site in Barsu.
Anil Kumar Dongre, a deputy engineer in the Rajapur division of the Maharashtra State Electricity Board, bought 3.40 acres for 4.15 lakh in January 2020. In February 2021, the wife of Sanjay Bakalker, a manager at the Rajapur branch of the district central cooperative bank, paid 9 lakhs for 2.79 acres. Between May and August 2022, nil Kumar Gaikwad, a joint managing director of the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation, paid 50.55 lakh for numerous plots in Barsu and Solegaon totalling 26.70 acres.
In June 2022, former Congress MLA Ashish Deshmukh paid $56.41 lakh for more than 18 acres in Solgaon. (The agreement was reached before the project’s announcement, however, it was registered in 2022). Pradeep Tidar, a police officer, paid 17.50 lakh for 4.38 acres in Barsu in September 2022 (again, the transaction was completed shortly after the MIDC announcement, but the registration was completed in September 2022). Neelima, Tidar’s wife, paid $4.20 lakh for a second plot in Barsu covering 2.30 acres, which was registered in May 2022. In addition, Pandharinath Ambekar, the principal suspect in the murder of journalist Shashikant Warishe in February of this year, sold land in Barsu to three journalists affiliated with three distinct Marathi networks. Warishe had been opposing the proposed refinery in the neighbourhood newspapers. Once their deals were made known to the public, the three journalists were eventually fired. According to Minister Samant, all of these transactions are being looked at because they included public authorities.
These landowners might receive at least five times the land’s ready reckoner rate, according to an MIDC official. But frequently, it can be even higher. According to the 2013 land purchase laws, the government must pay the seller five times the ready reckoner rate. However, because MIDC is negotiating this project, our rates may increase because we will ultimately recover the rate from the industries that are being established.
The Barsu-Solgaon Panchkroshi Refinery Virodhi Samiti is led by Satyajeet Chavan, who stated, To purchase land in an area notified by MIDC needs authorization from local government authorities. The authorities gave these officials the freedom to make agreements. Second, the government has been deceiving the people by claiming that it already owns 70% of the necessary property, but this also includes the land that these officials and businesses bought as investments. There are at least 224 outsiders and other such investors who, motivated by financial gain, bought land quickly after the MIDC’s notification and before the government announced the refinery.
“My land is outside the notified area,” declared Ashish Deshmukh, who ran against his uncle Anil Deshmukh in the 2014 assembly election from Katol and won on a Congress ticket. Because I believe the area’s proximity to Goa will make the dairy business viable, I bought the land as a farmer to establish a dairy. Deshnukh’s land is mostly in Vidarbha, and this is his first purchase in the Konkan region.
Sandeep Rathod, an IAS officer, stated, “I don’t know if my father has bought any land there. He is free to buy land wherever he wants in the nation, but I am not aware of any such agreement. As an IAS officers, we disclose information about our real estate holdings on the department’s website.
Tidar, a police officer, stated, “We followed all legal procedures while buying the land, and it was from the known sources of our revenue. No regulation or law prohibits a government official from buying land. After the project’s specifics were made public, the plots were purchased.
Dongre, a representative of MSEB, stated, “I bought the land as my retirement plan. I have not provided any permission for the acquisition, and it is outside the region that has been notified. After his land deal came to light on Saturday, industries minister Samant transferred Anil Kumar Dongre. Dongre states that no transfer order has been given to him.