The BJP has demanded a probe into alleged out-of-turn allotment of a plot of land by the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) to Desh Agro Pvt.Ltd., a Latur-based firm run by Ritesh Deshmukh and his wife, Genelia Deshmukh.
Desh Agro was set up in March 2021 with Ritesh and Genelia as equal partners. The firm applied to Latur MIDC for a plot on April 5, 2021, following which a meeting of the MIDC was held in Bombay on April 9 last year. The plot admeasuring 2,52,726 sq. metres was allotted to Ritesh’s firm on April 15, 2021, at a rate of Rs. 605 per sq. foot. The firm deposited Rs. 15.28 crore with the MIDC for the same.
The BJP’s contention is that with a share capital of Rs. 7.5 crore, the firm should not have been able to buy a plot for Rs. 15.28 crore. The party alleged that the MIDC allotted the plot under the priority category while 16 other applications were pending under the same category. The plot was handed over to the Deshmukhs on July 22, 2021. Following this, the firm applied on October 4, 2021 for a loan to Pandharpur Urban Cooperative Bank. A total of Rs. 4 crore was sanctioned to the firm. On October 5, 2021, Latur District Central Cooperative Bank sanctioned Rs. 61 crore, and later a second loan of Rs. 55 crore. In all, the firm secured loans of Rs. 120 crore.
The BJP’s grouse is that Deshmukhs’ firm was allotted the plot out of turn. Against a share capital of Rs. 7.5 crore, it obtained a loan of Rs. 120 crore, the BJP added, explaining that all these issues needed to be probed by an independent agency. On his part, Ritesh clarified, “The plot has been allotted to my firm in accordance with the existing rules… the allegations made by BJP leaders Mage and More are not based on facts. Desh Agro has been set up to help local farmers and strengthen agriculture-based industries. Soyabean processing and soyabean units will be set up on the plot.” He added that the promoters had fully complied with the rules and believed in social commitment.