MUMBAI: After the Congress, which has had to face all-round embarrassment over Kripa Shankar Singh's disproportionate assets case, it's the turn of its partner in the DF government, the NCP, to face uncomfortable questions over a key minister's land holdings near Mumbai.
State water resources minister Sunil Tatkarecould be in a spot over his family's large land holdings in Raigad district. The state water resources department is under scrutiny after TOI's recent expose on the highly inflated costs of irrigation projects, which favour private contractors.
Documents procured by this newspaper reveal that Tatkare's family and his close associates control over 300 acres of agriculture land in Ambivali, Dhagadwadi, Khim and Shekhadi. These villages are part of Tatkare's stronghold in Raigad district, over which he has held sway as an MLA for close to two decades. Local sources alleged these land parcels form only a small part of the family's real estate portfolio.
Land records show that a major chunk of the land bank is directly in the name of Tatkare's 29-year-old son, Aniket. In a year, between 2008 and 2009, the junior Tatkare purchased over 80 plots aggregating around 250 acres in Dhagadwadi and Ambivali. The plots were bought by around two dozen companies in which Aniket and his 24-year-old sister Aditi are directors. These companies mainly pertain to agriculture, real estate and hotels.
These plots were purchased for as little as Rs 46,000 to over Rs one crore, depending on their size. The family's property portfolio also includes a prime five-acre sprawl in Kihim, where an acre could fetch Rs 3-4 crore at present. The Kihim land was purchased by Multiventure Agro & Infrastructure Pvt Ltd, a company in which Aniket is a director.
When contacted, Aniket claimed his land holding was only around 80 acres. "Some of the parcels which are shown in my name have either been transferred or sold to third parties,'' he told TOI. The junior Tatkare strongly denied allegations that land owners in Raigad district were forced to sell their properties. "No one was pressured to part with their land,'' he said.
Minister Tatkare too denied allegations that locals were threatened to sell their land to his son. "My son has his own identity. He is doing well in the agriculture and dairy business. All land transactions are between him and the farmers,'' he told this newspaper.
Information gleaned from the Union ministry of corporate affairs show that the minister's children are directors in over two dozen companies. In fact, daughter Aditi became a director of one of the companies, Multiventure Properties Pvt Ltd, when she was barely 18 years old in 2006. (She stepped down a year later).
Some of the companies headed by the minister's son are Appleberry Agro Tech, Bay Tree Agri Farms, Geetamrut Hotels and Resorts, Next Technologies (India), Bluestream Properties, Ani Hotels, Sputnik Agro & Resorts, Multiventure Financial Services, Modern India Free Trade Warehousing and Carnation Agro Estate. Another company, Mazda Construction, in which Aniket is a director, was taken over by Mumbai-based developer Orbit Corp early this year.
Till March 2012, Aditi had stepped down from nine of the 13 companies while her brother resigned as director from ten of the 25 companies. Vedanti Tatkare, the minister's daughter-in-law and Aniket's wife, is also shown as director in 15 different companies between 2008 and 2012. She stepped down from six of these over the past two years.
Some of the companies in which she is still active are Griffith Real Estate Pvt Ltd, Ani Hotels, Shravani Land, Bay Tree Agri Farms, Chineshwar Land, Coin Land and Sputnik Agro & Resorts Pvt Ltd.
Interestingly, one of the directors in Aniket's companies is Kiran Sarange, whose father, Keshav Sarange, is an employee working on the minister's farm. Barely 22 years old, Kiran jointly holds close to 150 acres with one Manoj Shinde.
Section 63(1) of the Land Ceiling Act allows companies to buy agriculture land. The collector's permission is required to purchase up to 54 acres. Anything above this requires the sanction of the state cabinet. This is mainly to safeguard the interest of farmers. Records show that the Tatkare family and their associates have received over a dozen such clearances from the collector since 2006.
Companies in which Aniket Sunil Tatkare is director
Name of company, Date of appointment
Multiventure Financial Services 24-02-2012
Multiventure Properties 24-02-2012
Multiventure Agro & Infrastructure 24-02-2012
Geetamrut Dairy Pvt Ltd 27-06-2007
Swargamrut Dairy Pvt Ltd 28-09-2007
Mazda Construction Company 28-09-2009
Bluestream Properties 20-06-2009
Bay Tree Agri Farms 13-03-2012
Appleberry Agro Tech 17-03-2012
Next Technologies (India) 30-04-2010
Ani Hotels 27-02-2009
Sputnik Agro & Resorts 5-01-2009
Modern India Free Trade Warehousing 16-07-2009
Carnation Agro Estate 29-07-2008
Companies in which Aditi Sunil Tatkare is director
Name of company, Date of appointment
Geetamrut Dairy 27-06-2007
Swargamrut Dairy 28-09-2007
Next Technologies (India) 30-04-2010
Applebery Agro Tech 17-03-2012
Companies in which Vedanti Aniket Tatkare is director
Name of Co Date of Appointment
Griffith Real Estate 24-10-2008 (additional director)
Sputnik Agro & Resorts 5-01-2009
Ani Hotels 27-02-2009
Next Technologies (India) 30-04-2010
Chineshwar Land 4-10-2010 (additional director)
Shreyas Land 25-10-2010 (additional director)
Coin Land 25/10/2010 (additional director)
Shravani Land 10-01-2011 (additional director)
Bay Tree Agri Farms 13-03-2012
Source:timesofindia.indiatimes.com
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