Lokayukta summons Goa CS over land scam complaint

Panaji, Nov 14 (IANS) Goa Lokayukta P.K. Mishra on Wednesday summoned state Chief Secretary Dharmendra Sharma to appear in person before the anti-corruption authority on November 23, over alleged corruption in the purchase of a tract of land admeasuring 1.83 lakh sq.mts. which belonged to a now former Congress MLA Subhash Shirodkar by the BJP-led coalition government for Rs 70 crore.

The summons were issued on Wednesday, after the state administration failed to submit documents related to the land transaction, which were formally requested by the Lokayukta during the last hearing on October 22, this year.

A city lawyer Aires Rodrigues has alleged that Shirodkar, who was elected to the state legislative assembly on the Congress ticket in 2017, has allegedly "benefitted from a massive land scam in collusion with the Goa government's gross act of maladministration", also alleging that the Congress MLA was offered an exorbitant price for the land, in return for the Congress MLA joining the BJP last month.

The complaint filed by Rodrigues before the Lokayukta last month, has also said that Vedanta Real Estate Developers, a company owned by Subhash Shirodkar and his three brothers Amit, Umesh and Sattesh had bought the land in 2006 for a mere Rs 45 per sq.mt. which the government has now acquired for a price of Rs 3,500 per sq.mt.

Subhash Shirodkar has denied any wrongdoing on his part vis-a-vis the purchase of his land by the state government, claiming that he had to go to court to get a fair price for the land from the Goa government.