The Maharashtra government has leased 1,200 acres of fertile land in Ahilyanagar’s Haregaon village to Vishwaraj Renewables Private Limited, a Mumbai-based company owned by Sarang Lakhani.
He is the son-in-law of NCP (SP) MP Supriya Sule and son of BJP MLC Arun Lakhani, who is considered close to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. Social activist Anjali Damania questioned the allotment of government land to a private company without a tender process. She asked why a tender was not floated for a deal involving such a large tract of land and whether competitive bidding could have fetched the government a higher lease amount. Damania pointed out that in June, the government had decided to develop a green energy park on the land through Mahaurja under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model. She questioned who had directed this change in policy, adding that the Government Resolution did not provide any reason for it.
The land, held by the Maharashtra State Farming Corporation, has been leased to the company for 49 years, according to an order issued on October 5. The allotment comes within two weeks of the government issuing the order to lease 1,500 acres of land to another private firm, Nibe Group. The government has also allotted 1,500 acres to the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) for defence-related projects. However, just three months later, in September, the same 1,200 acres were allotted directly to a single private company.
