Modi govt 'favoured' pvt company in sale of Mundra land: NGO

Continuing with its alleged "exposes" against the Narendra Modi government in Gujarat, an NGO here today claimed that the state administration favoured a private company in allotment of land in the port town of Mundra.
The NGO Anhad at a press conference alleged that the private firm was sold land in the Kutch district "at Rs 143 crore less than the market price" over a period of time.
"Over 5,465 hectare of land was sold through 30 orders from 2005 to 2007 for SEZ (Special Economic Zone) at Rs 2.50 to Rs 25 per square metre when the market price was between Rs 1,000 and Rs 1,500 per sq m ...The land was divided on paper into smaller sizes so as not to attract auction rates," Anhad's head Shabnam Hashmi alleged.

He further alleged that in "contravention of the government laws", 23 orders for sale of land were released on a single day on July 15, 2005. The land was even sold below the stamp duty price, it said.
"A large portion of the land sold were pasture land and the sale has robbed the people dependent on cattle of their livelihood, forcing large migration out of the region," Hashmi said.
The NGO said it accessed the documents, mostly in Gujarati language through "RTI or with the help of people inside the system who shared information anonymously" when they heard about "our cause".