Post Shetty murder,no progress in IRB Kamshet township project

Ideal Road Builders (IRB) Infrastructure Developers Limited had in 2007 announced an integrated township project near Kamshet off the Pune-Mumbai Expressway.

Ideal Road Builders (IRB) Infrastructure Developers Limited had in 2007 announced an integrated township project near Kamshet off the Pune-Mumbai Expressway. The company had virtually scrapped the project after the name of IRB CMD Virendra Dattatraya Mhaiskar cropped up in the Satish Shetty murder case. Shetty,an RTI activist had alleged that IRB and its subsidiary Aryan Infrastructure Investment Pvt Ltd had grabbed land for the project.

With no land acquisition or construction activity being undertaken after the Shetty murder,it has been virtually scrapped, said an IRB official on the condition of anonymity. The IRB had claimed it had land reserves of approximately 1,200 acres in Mauje Taje and Mauje Pimploli villages near Kamshet and intended to acquire 200 more for the proposed township.

Shetty had accused IRB Infrastructure and its subsidiary Aryan Infrastructure Investment Pvt Ltd of grabbing government and private lands in Mauje Taje and Mauje Pimploli villages by forging documents and manipulating land records. A complaint in this regard had been lodged with Lonavala police. Ashwini Kshirsagar,the Lonavala sub-registrar of land registration was suspended in 2009,after about 90 sale deeds pertaining to Aryan Infrastructure were cancelled by the Land registration department.

The township,termed the first real estate development project by IRB was to include IT parks,a business complex,a sports complex and residential and recreational facilities. In a transcript of a conference call addressed by Virendra Mhaiskar on May 3,2012 (available on IRB website),Mhaiskar had stated that 66 per cent of this township was held by IRB and 34 per cent by him in individual capacity. When we bought this land between 2007 and 2009,we had accumulated an overall acreage of around 1,100 acres and total company investment on this asset was around 150 crore, Mhaiskar had said in reply to a question during the conference call.

He also said that two other company officials,Deepak Gadgil,head of realty of IRB and chief liasoning officer Jayant Dangare,who held the power of attorney executing the land sale deed and managing this purchase transaction are being questioned. The conference call was held after the CBI sought court permission for a polygraph test on Mhaiksar.

The CBI had on Tuesday raided 11 spots including the office and residence of advocate Ajit Kulkarni in Pune,who has been assisting and confirming party to all IRB land transactions.

In November 2009,Shetty had written to Pratap Dighavkar,the then superintendent of Pune rural police that he had received threats and wanted protection.

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In March 2011,his brother Sandip had filed an affidavit in the Bombay High Court that police had failed to pursue those named by Satish Shetty in his application seeking protection. Sandip had mentioned the name of Mhaiskar in the affidavit.

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