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SEZThe Fraudulent Role of GIDCby SEZ.VirodhiManch 1. Even though allotment of land is for SEZ, none of the Provisions of the SEZ Act 2005, more particularly Sections 3, 4 and 5 have been followed, and therefore, the whole allotment gets vitiated on this ground. 2. At least three of the four companies in the Verna Industrial Estate are new companies not having any experience at all and K. Rahejas is purely a real estate developer. Therefore, it appears that these companies have been specifically been floated for the purpose of grabbing this land under the guise of SEZ. 3. The Applications which do not bear any inward stamp and number nor the seal of the respective Companies are all dated 12th April, 2006, and the land allotment has been approved within six days thereof i.e. at the Meeting of the Board held on 19/04/2006 thereby giving a complete go-by to the Provisions of the Goa, Daman and Diu Industrial Development Act, 1965, as well as under the Regulations framed thereunder for determining the time and place for the Meetings of the Corporation and the procedure to be followed in regard to transaction of business at such meetings. Under Regulation 2, it is a mandatory requirement that the Secretary shall give seven days clear notice of the ensuing Meeting to the Members of the Corporation. Under Regulation 3, the Secretary is required to furnish each Member with the Agenda and the item notes regarding the business included in the Agenda. The Notice is required to be despatched to the Members by ordinary post under Certificate of Posting and a Notice is required to be despatched along with its Annexures. In the instant case, even assuming that the Application is inwarded on 12th April, 2006, the same could not have been discussed in the Meeting held on 19/04/2006 as the seven days clear notice as required under the Regulations could not have been followed; therefore on the face of this, the allotment in favour of the Accused Nos. 5 to 9 Companies appears to be illegal and in violation of Law and the same is required to be thoroughly investigated in order to bring out the truth. The allotment on the fact of it is done in order to favour the Accused Nos. 5 to 9 Companies, thus playing a big fraud on the people of Goa as well as the State Exchequer and the people who are guilty of this should be severely punished not only under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, but also under the Indian Penal Code. 4. As stated in the aforesaid paragraphs, all the Accused Companies would require a large quantity of water supply per day; a large amount of electricity supply; a huge amount of manpower as well as the said Companies would carry on substantial amount of construction activities. The approval for allotment of land to these Companies has been given without the preparation of any Feasibility Report or for that matter, without even taking into consideration the ground realities prevailing as regards the water supply, electricity supply or what impact the said construction activity would have on the environment. 5. The Board has resolved to waive off the Transfer Fee, Sub-lease Fee etc., to these Companies, without even a request for the same from the applicants and without the matter being on the Agenda, thereby draining out the public Exchequer, 6. The allotment of the said Plots has been done on the whims and fancies of the Board Members. The Goa IDC is a Statutory Body and while disposing off any property belonging to the Goa IDC, the Goa IDC has to advertise the same in the daily newspapers and the property is required to be sold by auction or tender so that no loss is caused to the Revenue of the State. The disposal by such means and in such haphazard manner would adversely affect the Revenue of the State. Even otherwise, property acquired for industrial purpose cannot be allotted in a fraudulent manner as has been done in this case. 7. The said land was not acquired for the Special Economic Zone nor has the same been declared as Special Economic Zone area and no Resolution has been passed by the Board to change the purpose of acquisition; while the land was originally acquired solely for industrial purposes it has now been allotted for SEZ which will have a land use incorporating industrial, commercial as well as residential. Now therefore allotment of the said land for SEZ purpose is completely illegal and in violation of the Goa, Daman & Diu Industrial Act, 1965, and the same has been done in order to favour Accused Nos. 5 to 9. 8. The said allotments of land totally admeasuring 18.7 lakh square metres (excluding land allotted in the form of internal roads and open spaces) have been passed in the Meeting which was attended by only four Members without following the due procedure of Law. The said allotment of land had not previously been approved by the Government before being discussed at the Board Meeting held on 19/04/2006. 9. In the Meeting of the Board held on 07/02/2006; the Board took a decision to revise the rates and to hike the same as there is constraint of land and the rates in the vicinity of the Estates are also competitive. The rates in all the Industrial Estates were enhanced including Verna Phase â I, II and III, Verna Phase IA. The rates in the other Industrial Estates also where there is no space or little space available have been enhanced considerably. But in Phase IV of the Verna Industrial Estate which is a new acquisition and where the rates of acquisition were also high, the rates have not been enhanced by the Board. This has been done purposely in order to avail or to allot the land to the Accused Companies at a lesser rate and thereby cause loss to the Public Exchequer and Public Revenue as well as the Government Revenue. 10. The area allotted to said M/s Inox Mercantile Company Pvt. Ltd., is 5,52,089 square meters which is far in excess of that which was applied for by them i.e., 4,84,832 square metres. In fact in the application made by this Company, the earlier area requested for was 5,52,089 square meters, which was thereafter cancelled and decreased to 4,84,832 square meters. It is really worthwhile to note here how the Board officials came to know about the initial figure of 5,52,089 square meters and accordingly allotted the same to the M/s Inox Mercantile Company Pvt. Ltd. While the Board resolution still stands at 5,52,089 square metres, the Deed of Lease bears the allotted figure as 4,84,832 square metres. 11. One of the Accused Companies i.e., M/s Planet View Mercantile Co. Pvt. Ltd., was neither incorporated on the day of the application nor on the day of the approval by the Board on 19/04/2006. The said Company was in fact, incorporated only on 26/04/2007. 12. One of the Accused Companies i.e. M/s Paradigm Logistics & Distribution Pvt. Ltd; had in fact, paid an amount of Rs.3,17,30,228/- vide Receipt No. PNJ-51 dated 17/04/2006. It is therefore obvious that the said amount was paid on 17/04/2006 i.e. even prior to the approval of the Board Meeting dated 19/04/2006. This therefore, requires a thorough investigation as to how the payment was made and received for allotment of plot even prior to Board taking the decision of allotment. This smacks of a complete fraud being played on Public Revenue and people of Goa by Government Officials in connivance with these Companies. 13. By a letter dated April 12/13, 2006, bearing No.GOA-IDC/BM-287/8325 was circulated to the Members including the Minister for Industries stating that the Meeting would be held on 19/04/2006, it was stated that the Agenda would be circulated shortly. It was sent on 17/04/2006 which was a crucial date as the money was paid on 17/04/2006 in respect to M/s. Paradigm Logistics & Distribution Pvt. Ltd. and thereafter on 18/04/2006 by a letter bearing No.GOA IDC/B.M.-287/8384 the Agenda for the 287th Meeting of the IDC was circulated. In fact, the Agenda was circulated on 19-04-2006 as the acknowledgements reveal. It is pertinent to note that the Director of Industries acknowledge receipt of the Agenda at 5.20 p.m. on 19-04-2006 and the Chief Electrical Engineer, who is also part of the Board, received the intimation of the Agenda at 5.15 p.m. on the 19-04-2006, when in fact the Meeting was convened at 4.00 p.m. on that day itself. 14. Under Regulation 6 (a) regarding the Regulations for determining the time and place for the Meetings of the Corporation, the procedure which has to be followed in regard to transaction of business at such meetings framed in pursuance to Section 51(i)(a) of Goa Daman & Diu Industrial Development Act, 1965, is that in order to form a quorum, at least one of the Members nominated under section 4(1)(d) of Goa Daman & Diu Industrial Development Act, 1965, is required to be present. In the instant case, the said person not being present at the Meeting held on 19/04/2006, there was no quorum in the eyes of law and therefore all decisions taken in the said Meeting are null and void. 15. In the 295th Board Meeting of the IDC held on 09/03/2007, as regards the adoption of bye-laws for IT and Biotech Building with an FAR of 150, the Board has resolved to adopt the bye-laws for IT and Biotech Parks as per the approval conveyed by the Town & Country Planning Department vide their Letter No. 27/13/ TCP /07/Pt.file(872) dated 01/03/2007. As per the said approval, the FAR would be 150. The said bye-laws do not apply to SEZs but apply only to IT and Biotech buildings. The Board by applying these bye-laws to Industrial Areas has violated the law and completely misapplied the Provisions of IT and Biotech bye-laws. This has been done at the instance and behest of the Accused Companies so that they get more FAR for the purpose of construction. 16. As regards Accused Nos. 7and 8, the item-wise Cost Projections in the Application do not tally with the total cost of the Project. This indicates that the Applications have been made in the most haphazard manner and the land has been allotted to these Companies without there being any application of mind or thorough scrutiny of the applications. 17. In the 287th Meeting of the Board, there is no reference at all of allotting any open space or space for a road to the Accused Companies and the same has been done without any Authority of Law or for that matter, without there being any Board Resolution; therefore, the allotment is void ab initio. In fact, the said land allotted for open spaces and road was given at the rate of Rs.100/- per square metre in the 295th Board Meeting dated 09-03-2007 which is much below the approved rate. In fact, SEZ area is a contiguous area as per the requirements of SEZ and therefore, all infrastructural areas like roads, open spaces etc., become a part and parcel of the SEZ; therefore, the question of the same being allotted separately at a lower rate does not arise at all. Thus from the above, it is abundantly clear that the allotment of land done in favour of Accused Nos. 5 to 9 Companies is completely illegal and in violation of the SEZ Act, 2005; the Goa, Daman & Diu Industrial Development Act, 1965, as well as under the Rules and Regulations framed under the said Act. By allotting these plots, the Board members of the Goa IDC have shown favouritism and have allotted the land for some extraneous considerations and in a completely illegal manner. This whole land allotment appears to be a big scam and all these five Companies appear to have the aim of grabbing large tracts of Goan land by using the Government machinery in connivance and collaboration with the Goa IDC who have willingly obliged these Companies for obvious reasons, thereby causing loss of revenue to the State and playing a big fraud on the people of Goa. In the instant case, there was obviously a conspiracy hatched by all the Accused to drain out the Public Exchequer and there was a prior meeting of minds of the accused persons. PENINSULA RESEARCH CENTRE PVT. LTD. SANCOALE MEDITAB SPECIALITIES PVT. LTD - KERI RAHEJAS, VERNA PARADIGM LOGISTICS & DISTRIBUTION PVT. LTD. - VERNA INOX MERCANTILE COMPANY PRIVATE LIMITED- VERNA PLANETVIEW MERCANTILE COMPANY PVT. LTD. - VERNA MAXGROWS FINLEASE PVT. LTD. - VERNA ATUL RUIA ENTERPRISES PVT. LTD ; PERNEM 20 POINT PROGRAM at PHASE IV VERNA INDUSTRIAL ESTATE, LOUTOLIM One arm of the Government, namely the police, has filed cases against Chawla for fleecing Goan investors heavily in the Rockland Leasing Scam. ANother arm of the same government, namelyl GIDC, gives him entry into Goa once again by alloting 52 acres of land to his company Goa Agri Commerz Ltd.for an SEZ in Ambelim, Guleliwhen the application form gives the same address as Rockland Leasing. |
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