Ashok Chavan faces fresh charges in mining scam

Nagpur: Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan, who is in the eye of a storm for alleged favouritism in Adarsh Housing Society controversy, now faces a new charge. It has now emerged that Chavan allegedly favoured party functionaries in allotting mining land as well. Prime land was allocated to the relatives of party functionaries during his tenure as Industry Minister in 2008.
Amol Thakre, son of Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) chief Manikrao Thakre, and Praveen Kaswar, son of Yavatmal Congress MLA Wamanrao Kasawar are the two beneficiaries of allotment of 425 acres land for mining lime stone in Vidarbha during the tenure of Chavan as Industry Minister in 2008, according to information obtained by RTI activist Vilas Wankhede from district mining officer in the district collectorate.
The land was alloted in Zari taluka of Yavatmal district, close to Anil Ambani's Reliance Cementation Plant, said Wankhede.

The land was alloted in Dongargaon village. The area is rich in lime stone and dolomite.
Industry big wigs like Llyod Steel and state-owned Maharashtra State Mining Corporation (MSMC), whose financial standings are worth over Rs 500 crore, had also applied for land there, the RTI activist said.
Thakre and Kaswar had produced solvency certificates of a meagre Rs 1.5 lakh and Rs 4 lakh respectively.
Manikrao Thakre said his son had followed due procedure before applying for the land.
Vidarbha Janandolan Samiti president Kishore Tiwari alleged there was an illegal land allotment of 1000 hectares in the reserved forest area in Yavatmal distirict which is worst hit by farmers' suicides.