Haven''t grabbed land, will follow govt rules: Hema Malini

Mumbai, February 1

I will abide by government’s rules in purchasing land, actress-politician Hema Malini said on Monday as Congress continued to criticise the Maharashtra Government for having sold a prime piece of land for lesser than its actual price to the BJP parliamentarian.  

“I am getting 2,000 square metres land for building dance institute: Natyavihar Kalakendra Charity Trust… I have not paid anything as of now. I will follow all the rules and regulations of the government. Why speculate the price when I don't know myself how much I have to pay... whatever will be the cost I will pay it," she told reporters, asking the press to not politcise the issue.

"Thank you all for making it an issue nationally and internationally. Don't make it a political matter. It's my right to set up this dance institute in Mumbai as I have been living here. I don't know why an issue is made out of it," she said.

Malini claimed that it took her 20 years to get a plot of land for the institute.

"It is not that I have got the land just like that. It has been a struggle of 20 years. I have not grabbed the land as it's been said. The government has given it to me...  I have not gone and grabbed it," she said.

"We first sent a letter to Collector in 1994 requesting for a piece of land for setting up the dance institute. In 1996, we got land allotment and sanction letter, and in 2002, we paid revenue of Rs 10 lakh for the land in Versova," she said.

The veteran actress also claimed she intended to develop a piece of land into a garden that she would then give to the municipal corporation.

Documents obtained through Right to Information Act shows that the veteran actress was charged Rs 35 per sq metre (total of Rs 70,000) at Ambivali in suburban Andheri for a plot of land that is estimated to cost crores.  The land was originally reserved for a garden.

The parliamentarian still retains possession of a plot she was allotted previously in Mumbai.

The state government defended its decision by saying that the sale was conditional upon Malini’s promise of turning a 27,000 sq metre land at Ambivali in Andheri into a garden.

In 1997, the state government — then under an alliance of Shiv Sena and BJP — had given the actress a plot of land in upscale Versova for lesser than its rate in ready reckoner, but she could not build anything on it due to Coastal Regulation Zone rules.

The allotment was also criticised.

Ready reckoner is an annual statement of property rates based on which the government collects stamp duty from buyers. It is the basis for calculation of market value of flats for stamp duty and registration charges. — PTI