Govt. had recently allotted a plot of land to Malini.
By Sreekanth A Nair
The Right to Information (RTI) activist Anil Galgali has alleged that the BJP-Shiv Sena government in the state of Maharashtra has granted undue favors to its Member of Parliament (MP) and well-known actress Hema Malini by allotting her a plot in Andheri, for a highly subsidized price.
Galgali alleged that the government allotted 2,000 square meter plot in Oshiwara, in the north-western Mumbai suburb of Andheri, to Hema Malini to set up a dance school last month for only $1029 while the market price of the same is around $10.29 million.
He urged that the government should charge market price from Malini for the plot and must take back the old plot allotted to her earlier for the same purpose.
In 1997, a 1711 square meter plot was allotted to her for building a dance academy in Versova area. Since the plot was on marshy land she couldn’t develop it due to the issues related to Coastal Regulation Zone.
Galgali told Rediff.com that Malini had been using the plot allotted earlier for business purpose and not for charity and so the government must take back it.
According to the documents accessed by him through RTI application, the new plot is reserved for a garden and its area is 28000 square meters. The government allotted 2000 square feet to Malini for dance school and asked her to develop rest of the plot also.
Galgali questioned the allotment of a garden plot to Malini and said that common man did not get entry to gardens occupied by private parties.
“At present, the Mumbai public don’t get entry into such gardens. There is a big fight going on over this issue. Many such gardens have been occupied by private parties and the common man does not get an entry. The people of Mumbai don’t have open spaces and gardens,” he told Rediff.com
However, he termed the government decision a favor and not a scam. He also opined that the Chief Minister of the state Devendra Fadnavis may not have known the issue since it was done by another ministry.