Dham,where Kasturba Gandhi was under house arrest,in alleged land scam

One Dilip Ahya,nephew of one of the trustees Pravin Ahya,in a letter to District Collector H S Patel,had complained that the Kasturba Dham Trust has sold off nearly 10,000 square metres to an education trust,sources said.

The Collector has ordered an inquiry in the matter and asked local officials to submit the report at the earliest.

Kasturba Dham located on city’s outskirts has been in the news since the manager of the Dham Jaysinh Rathod,in an affidavit given to the Charity Commissioner accused trustee Pravin Ahya of selling Gandhiji’s articles — a dish,bowl and spectacles – to a British auctioneer.

The District Collector had issued a notice on January 11 to managing trustee Vibhakar Vaccharajani for not maintaining the trust’s report and for breach of the trust’s norms.

The trust formed in 1967 was given nearly 4,400 square yards at Rs 1 per yard. Of this,35 acres of land was meant for building a housing colony for the trust’s employees.

However,the trust did not construct even a single house and the district administration subsequently seized the land.

The complainant has now alleged that 10,000 square metres of land has been sold off by the trust.