Bawankule defends trust at the centre of land row

Days after the Cabinet turned down the Revenue Department's proposal for "direct allotment" of five hectares of land (12.35 acres) in Nagpur for educational purposes to Shri Mahalaxmi Jagdamba Sansthan, Koradi, headed by Chandrashekhar Bawankule, the state BJP chief defended the sansthan.

- Kalpesh Mhamunkar

The Cabinet decision followed objections by the Finance Department headed by Deputy Chief Minister and NCP leader Ajit Pawar. The Finance Department said the "trust does not seem to be active in higher and technical education". The revenue department, which is headed by Minister Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil of the BJP, has now instructed the trust to follow government procedure for allocation of land to public trusts.

On Wednesday the state BJP chief said the Shri Mahalaxmi Jagdamba Sansthan "is not the private limited trust or private organisation of Bawankule. The chairman changes every two years. The trust provides education to 800 students for Rs 1 only. Please show me such an institute in Maharashtra"