Fresh Trouble For Shinde Aide Sanjay Shirsat As Fadnavis Forms Panel To Probe Rs 5000-Cr Land Scam

Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has formed a committee to probe allegations against Sanjay Shirsat, a cabinet minister and a leader of the Shiv Sena's Eknath Shinde faction, in a land scam case.

A six-member committee — the Chief Conservator of Forests of Thane, the District Magistrate of Raigad, the Co-Managing Director of CIDCO, the Chief Land and Land Records Officers of Thane and Raigad, and the Deputy Conservator of Forests of Alibag — was formed on Thursday. The panel is being headed by the Konkan Divisional Commissioner.

The investigation into the Rs 5000 crore CIDCO land scam in Navi Mumbai, involving Social Justice Minister Shirsat, was announced two months ago after MLA Rohit Pawar had accused Shirsat of corruption. 

The land scam revolves around allegations against Shirsat and others who used fake documents to wrongfully claim ownership of a forest land parcel officially marked as a “human reserve forest area".

The issue intensified in August when Rohit accused Shirsat of illegally transferring a 15-acre prime plot in Navi Mumbai valued at around Rs 5,000 crore to the Biwalkar family during his tenure as CIDCO chairman.

Rohit claims the handover was done falsely, declaring the family as the land’s original owners and that Shirsat received kickbacks for approving the deal.

The land transfer proposal was cleared during the previous Mahayuti government led by Eknath Shinde. Rohit has publicly demanded that the government sack Shirsat, calling him the “mastermind” of the Rs 5000 crore and saying the evidence submitted by the forest department is enough to prove the wrongdoing.

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