Assembly to debate irregularities in Maha Sadan construction

Bhujbal, while making a personal clarification under rule 47 in the Lower House, said the state government had decided in 2006 and 2007 to appoint K S Chamankar as the developer for the project.

"He has given saleable area of 2,36,780 lakh sqft in return for construction work to the tune of Rs 100 crore, including construction of Maharashtra Sadan in Delhi, High Mount guest house in South Mumbai and RTO office and transit camp in Andheri," Bhujbal said.

He reiterated that there was no corruption and the government had nothing to do with who got the sub-contracts.

Bhujbal said the opposition was trying to malign him and the government by alleging a scam in the project.

Girish Bapat (BJP), Subhash Desai (Shiv Sena) and others demanded a detailed discussion on the issue.

When Speaker Dilip Walse-Patil stated that there can be no discussion after the minister makes a personal clarification, the Opposition members persisted with their demand saying the cost of Maharashtra Sadan construction had escalated from Rs 52 crore to Rs 152 crore. "The minister's relatives were among the beneficiaries," they alleged.

The House had to be adjourned twice for 15 minutes each as the Opposition refused to allow transaction of further business. Later, Leader of Opposition Eknath Khadse said a detailed discussion will allow the facts to come out.

Bhujbal said he was ready for a debate and reiterated that there was no corruption.

The Speaker said he would take a decision on the date and time of the debate tomorrow or on Wednesday, which is the last day of the ongoing monsoon session.