BJP’s Kirit Somaiya attacks Hasan Mushrif, minister to issue statement on Friday

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former MP Kirit Somaiya has alleged that Rural Development Department minister Hasan Mushrif had given a contract worth ₹1,500 crore to a company owned by his son-in-law, which was scrapped after an alarm was raised against it. Despite repeated attempts to contact Mushrif on landline and mobile, he did not respond. His office said that the government will issue a statement on Friday. Rajesh Kumar, additional chief secretary, RDD, too did not respond to the calls and messages.

Citing an order by Lokayukta, Somaiya has also said the state has accepted that the resort owned by transport minister Anil Parab in Ratnagiri was constructed illegally.

Addressing a press conference at party office in Mumbai, Somaiya said the minister had given contract to Jayostute Management Private Limited, owned by his son-in-law Mateen Mangoli in March 2021. He said the contract, given for filing of income tax returns and GST refunds by local bodies governed by the RDD, was cancelled only after they threatened to lodge a complaint. The BJP leader said the 10-year contract would have cost local bodies ₹1,500 crore, when the local bodies have been doing filing works for free for years.

“The decision for giving such contract was taken in May 2020 when the entire Maharashtra was under lockdown of the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. The contract was awarded in March this year when the state was again under the second wave of the pandemic. The contract was scrapped last week after we raised concerns and sought an explanation. Although the company was formed in 2012-13, it was taken over by Mateen eight months ago. The company neither had any experience in the field, nor had any turnover in the past eight years of formation,” Somaiya said.

Somaiya said that the revenue department of the state government has admitted that the permission acquired for the resort owned by Parab in Guhagar was taken by cheating and forgery. “After Maharashtra governor BS Koshyari directed Lokayukta to conduct a probe into the illegal resort constructed by Parab by violating the Coastal Regulation Zone norms, the Lokayukta had summoned additional chief secretary of revenue and environment departments. The revenue department has stated that the permission was taken by submitting the forged document. It has also stated that the permission was taken only for 504 sqm, while the actual construction has been done on thousands of sqm. The revenue department has also stated that they have started the process of cancelling the permissions given to the resort,” he said.

Somaiya said that the National Green Tribunal has summoned Anil Parab for the hearing on November 25.