The Supreme Court order to attach Sahara Aamby Valley was welcomed by land activists, who claimed the group was only paying for its ill deeds.
The court ordered a provisional attachment as a deterrent and to secure money due to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). The Maharashtra government said it was carefully studying the order to find out if its revenue department or cooperatives department had a role to play in the issue.
“There is no reason why Sahara should not be in loss as far as this hill station is concerned. They bought this land at a throwaway price and used to pull money out and pool money into it through dubious means,” said veteran land activist from Pune Dr. Vishwambhar Choudhari. He and social activist Medha Patkar have been highlighting the rampant destruction of the Western Ghats since the State government launched its ‘Hill Station Policy’ in 1994.
Located at Lonavala, the posh hill township is spread across 10,000 acres and boasts hotels, spas, a man-made lake, a golf course and plush bungalows owned by the rich and the mighty of Mumbai and Pune. Sahara’s precious assets like the Grosvenor House in London and other valued properties are already under court’s scanner.
“Our agency is looking at the foreign assets of Sahara, including properties in the U.K. and the U.S. We are not concerned with the domestic properties like Aamby Valley,” said Joint Director, Directorate of Enforcement, Satyabrata Kumar. The group was accused of transferring large sums from the multi-state Sahara Credit Co-operative Society, in which millions of investors had parked money, into Aamby Valley to keep the township afloat. The society’s total liability had touched ₹36,000 and it had even come under SEBI’s scanner.
‘Under Centre’s purview’
The government said it had nothing to do with the matter. “There are some 300-odd multi-state societies, but they all fall under the Centre’s Ministry of Agriculture. I will still study the order and see if the State has a role to play in it,” said former State Cooperatives Minister and BJP leader Chandrakant Patil.
SEBI representatives said they cannot comment on a sub-judice issue. The order has, however, caused panic among the bona fide investors in the Valley and other hill stations. “This is nothing but mismanagement of funds and the hill station policy. The sufferers are those who have invested in Aamby Valley and its land and societies,” said Dr. Choudhari.
