State gives 3-acre plot earlier owned by Aarey Colony to bank headed by BJP’s Pravin Darekar
State government has allocated land near Aarey Colony for Mumbai District Central Cooperative Bank's new building
Mumbai: The state government has given a three-acre plot in the Maharashtra Animal and Fishery Sciences University complex near Aarey Colony in Goregaon to the Mumbai District Central Cooperative Bank, headed by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator Pravin Darekar, for the construction of a new building. The land originally belonged to Aarey Colony and was given to the university.
According to a government resolution issued on Monday, the university passed a resolution on March 7, 2024, approving the transfer. The land was allotted to the state revenue department, which then transferred it to the bank.
Maharashtra revenue minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, who is also the dairy development minister, said the land can be used to house a training centre for the cooperative sector. “There is no training centre for the cooperative sector in Mumbai. “The Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank has no training centre. The Centre also has a new cooperation ministry.”
Vikhe Patil added that the the Mumbai District Central Cooperative Bank will bear the cost of construction of the new building. “The university had surplus land, so we thought of giving it [to the bank] for [constructing a] Sahakar Bhavan. It is better to give land to some institute rather than someone encroaching on it.”
The GR says an area called Navshyacha Pada has encroached on the land. Sources said that some tribals have also staked claims to land in the area. “We have also given another plot in the same location to construct a godown for EVM machines,” said Vikhe Patil. The GR also says that the Mumbai Veterinary College will get a grant of ₹100 crore at its Parel and Goregaon campuses.
Sources said that the previous secretary of the Agriculture, Dairy Development, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries Department, Tukaram Mundhe, had opposed the transfer of this land as the university is an autonomous body. The university had also opposed it earlier, but later approved it. Meanwhile, Mundhe was transferred abruptly in June. He was unavailable for comment, while the current additional chief secretary of the department, Rajesh Kumar, did not answer calls.
Darekar also did not answer calls from this newspaper. A director of the Mumbai District Central Cooperative Bank said that the new Sahakar Bhavan building will have offices of the housing federation, a large hall and all activities related to the cooperation field.
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