Mumbai : In a first-of-its-kind incident, the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO), the development authority for Navi Mumbai, has cancelled allotment of a plot outside Vashi railway station to the government of Arunachal Pradesh citing breach of contract.
The said plot, admeasuring 2,500 sqm which was allotted to the Arunachal Pradesh government for building a state guest house, currently houses a jeweller’s shop. This is breach of the terms of contract which prohibits commercial use of the plot, CIDCO has stated.
The CIDCO, under its ‘Atithi Devo Bhava’ scheme, had offered prime plots outside Vashi railway station to various state governments, at nominal prices. The idea was to help them develop state guest houses on the lines of the ones in Delhi.
Seventeen state governments came forward to purchase the plots in Sector 30. The governments of Uttar Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Meghalaya, Assam and Uttaranchal were prompt to develop the plots and build guest houses. However, other major states such as Bihar did not pay much heed. The apathy on the part of the state governments has left 11 plots unused.
The state government of Arunachal Pradesh adopted a third route and handed over the leased plot to a private party for construction. The building that has come up on the plot does not house any of the offices of the government of Arunachal Pradesh. Instead, there is a huge outlet of a major jewellery brand.
“CIDCO has raised objections over the change of use and decided to cancel the allotment of the plot after thorough investigation in the case,” joint managing Director of CIDCO V Radha told FPJ.
“We have asked the state government of Arunachal Pradesh to hand over the plot to back to us within 90 days. If they fail to do so, the city services officials have been empowered to take appropriate action to get back the plot,” Radha said.
