NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik accuses Maharashtra minister Jaykumar Rawal of conflict of interest

Mumbai: Continuing its tirade against Maharashtra Tourism Minister Jaykumar Rawal, the NCP on Wednesday raised the charge of a “conflict of interest” against the BJP leader vis-a-vis a hill resort in Nandurbar. NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik alleged that Rawal’s company Toranmal Hill Resorts Private Ltd was operating the resort in Nandurbar district in north Maharashtra despite the company being blacklisted by the state-run tourism development corporation (MTDC). [caption id=“attachment_4168147” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik. Sanjay Sawant/Firstpost[/caption] “From 1998 to 2006, Rawal’s company Toranmal Hill Resorts Private Ltd. was given an MTDC resort on lease. The company did not pay the lease rent to the MTDC, which in turn invoked provisions of the Eviction of Public Premises Act, in 2011 and sent a notice to the company. “However, MTDC officials were not allowed to do their work and were forcibly turned away,” Malik alleged while addressing a press conference here. The NCP leader claimed that the Toranmal Hill Resorts Pvt Ltd is among the two lakh companies that were blacklisted by the Registrar of Companies after demonetisation. He said the company was deregistered in June last year. “However, the company purchased five-acre land in Dondaicha (in Dhule district) last year. As per land records, the company belongs to Jaykumar Rawal. This is a conflict of interest as Rawal is chairman of the MTDC in his capacity as Tourism Minister,” Malik said. He alleged that the company continues to function even after it was blacklisted and the hill resort is still accepting bookings. Malik said the competent authorities of the MTDC had issued an eviction notice against the resort which has not been stayed. “Rawal’s company kept the issue alive in court claiming that it had spent Rs 60 lakh on repairs of the resort while denying to pay the rent,” he alleged. Malik had last month accused Rawal of indulging in dubious land deals in his home district Dhule in the wake of suicide committed by 84-year-old farmer Dharma Patil, who was seeking adequate compensation for his land which was acquired for a solar project. Rawal had denied the allegations against him.