Deshmukh says will comment on land scam report after it is tabled in Maharashtra assembly

Pune, Apr.7 (ANI): Science and Technology Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh on Saturday reiterated that he would wait for the Comptroller and Auditor General's (CAG) report on the land scam in Maharashtra to be tabled in the Maharashtra State Assembly before commenting on his indictment.

Speaking to reporters in Pune, Deshmukh said it would not be right for him to comment on a leaked report and added that all decisions of land allotment were taken keeping the land disposal policy of the state in mind.

"When the CAG report will be presented in the house, then only I will express my views on it. This is a leaked report, and I don't think it is possible for me to comment on it. Any decision taken by the state (Maharashtra) government is as per the land disposal policy of Maharashtra. It is according to this policy that the government allots land to educational institutions, housing societies etc. After the report is presented before the Public Accounts Committee, it determines whether the allotment was made according to that policy or not," said Deshmukh.

According to the report, a 23,840 square metre plot in suburban Borivali area of Mumbai city was allotted to the Manjara Charitable Trust by the state government on September 28, 2005, when Deshmukh was chief minister, for opening a college.

Deshmukh was also rapped by India's Supreme Court for giving 20 acres of land to Bollywood film producer Subhash Ghai in 2004 for his film institute, Whistling Woods, thereby bypassing land allotment rules.

The Maharashtra Government was also allegedly involved in the scam surrounding the Adarsh Housing Society, an illegal Mumbai city apartment block that has become a symbol of political corruption.

The Adarsh scam is one of four major scandals that have damaged public confidence in the Congress party, alongside a 39 billion dollar telecom scandal, a cash-for-loans scam and charges of corruption in the running of Commonwealth Games in 2010. (ANI)