Congress, NCP attack BJP govt over 230 acres land given to Patanjali group for food park at MIHAN

Nagpur: Opposition Congress and NCP on Thursday targeted the BJP-led Maharashtra government for giving 230 acres of land to Patanjali Ayurved Limited for a food park in the non-SEZ area of MIHAN at a `throw away price’, alleging a loss of Rs 209 crore to the exchequer. Sanjay Dutt of Congress, through a calling-attention motion in the state Legislative Council, asked how could the government give 230 acres of land at a concessional rate to yoga guru Ramdev, founder of Patanjali group. Concessions are given for social causes, small scale industry and schemes for backward classes, however CEO of Patanjali is the “eighth richest businessman” in the country, Dutt alleged. [caption id=“attachment_3091492” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of founder of Patanjali group Baba Ram Dev. Reuters[/caption] It shows that this government is for rich people, the Congress MLC said, alleging that the grant of land to Patanjali caused a loss of Rs 209 crore to the government. The land which was worth Rs 268 crore was given for around Rs 58 crore, Dutt alleged, seeking to know the rationale for this concession. Parliamentary affairs minister Girish Bapat objected to Dutt calling Ramdev as only “baba”. General administration department minister Madan Yerawar, in reply to Dutt, said this piece of land at the multi-modal international hub airport (MIHAN) project was reserved for a food park, and a global tender had been issued for it. “Tenders were issued three times as there were only two bidders in the first two rounds,” the minister said, adding that in the third round, Patanjali was the only bidder. The whole procedure was transparent, Yerawar claimed. Congress and NCP members also sought to know how much money the government spent on construction of an approach road for the land. Following a ruckus over the issue, the House was adjourned for 30 minutes.