Is the state government authorised to act on behalf of Lord Ganesha? It seems like that, since it’s trying to acquire a prime plot of land in Prabhadevi on behalf of the Siddhivinayak Ganpati Temple Trust.Tenants of the 7,500-sq feet plot, the Shettys who own Sadanand Garage, are crying foul over the government’s land acquisition process initiated last year. The government notification had said that the land located next to the temple and valued at Rs 10 crore would be utilised to construct a waiting hall and a guest house for devotees at the temple.But that’s a claim challenged by Girish Godbole, the Shettys’ advocate. ‘‘Section 3 of the Act (which set up the trust) clearly vests the property with the deity,’’ he says. ‘‘The executive officer and members of the trust are appointed by the government merely for the temple’s administration. So, where does the government have any right to acquire property on behalf of the trust?’’ The Shettys are opposing the land acquisition process announced by a notice from the collector.Trust officials pooh-pooh this contention. ‘‘The deity is an imaginary thing. Accepted for legal sanctity, Ganpati is defined as a person in the Shree Siddhivinayak Ganpati Temple Trust Act, 1980. It is the government, through the committee it set up, which is owner of the property,’’ argues the trust’s chief executive officer Sanjay Bhagwat.But in the light of a letter written by the trust to the then chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh in December 2001 and furnished in court by the Shettys, several eyebrows are being raised. The letter refers to Rs 1 crore which the trust had promised to donate to the Chief Ministers Relief Fund following the Gujarat earthquake. Having already paid Rs 51 lakh, the letter has trust chairperson Sarayu Thakur seeking Deshmukh’s intervention in ‘‘resolving pending issues’’, like acquiring the Prabhadevi plot for the trust.‘‘What does the letter imply, if not a quid pro quo arrangement?’’ asks Godbole. The trust sees nothing improper in the donations. ‘‘The government has rights to acquire property for the public trust. It’s one of the principles laid down in the trust’s constitution,’’ says Kishore Joshi, a trust member.‘‘It’s not a new dispute. A deal had even been finalised, but fell through. Now the trust is glad the deal did not come through. We have been criticised for misusing public money. By the government estimate, the plot is worth a maximum of Rs 3 crore.’’Finally, a committee headed by retired Justice C Dharmadhikari was set up by the trust, to resolve the dispute. ‘‘We took his advice and requested the government to initiate acquisition proceedings,’’ says Bhagwat.
