(1888PressRelease)
July 11, 2007 - Wakf board chief M A Aziz on Monday added another twist to the controversy over the Altamount Road plot purchased by a Mukesh Ambani-promoted company by revealing that the NOC for the deal was issued by the state government.
“In 1984, the government had said that the plot is not wakf property,” claimed Aziz adding the board had merely endorsed it though he was not at the helm when the decision was taken in 2002.
Aziz alleged that, according to the government, the 9,000-square metre Altamount Road plot was not wakf property. On this basis, it had allotted half the plot to Mahanagar Telecom Nigam Limited (MTNL) and other government agencies.
The decision to sell the remaining portion to Antilia Commercial Pvt Ltd was endorsed by at least eight government departments. He claimed that even the then ministers for wakf, Sayyad Ahmed and Nawab Malik, did not object to the deal.
Aziz, who has been asked to explain by July 19 irregularities in the conduct of wakf affairs, claimed that the deal had been completed before the Maharashtra State Wakf Board was set up.
Ironically, Aziz claimed Currimbhoy Khoja Trust, the title-holder of the plot, paid Rs 16 lakh to the board as ‘wakf charges’ of the Rs 21 crore it got for the land from Antilia.
He claimed that he was being targetted by Wakf Minister Anees Ahmed after the board refused NOCs for two plots the latter had allegedly grabbed near Nagpur.
Ahmed admitted getting only one plot that was Urban Land Ceiling (ULC) property but insisted he had returned the same after it became controversial. “I was one of the beneficiaries of ULC property along with (ministers) Chhagan Bhujbal, Satish Chaturvedi and MLA Nitin Raut,” he claimed.
He demanded an enquiry against Aziz for questionable land deals worth Rs 500 crore, including one in Aurangabad involving the CM’s brother.
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