Relief for Ghai film school as Maha allots land on 30 yr lease

Maharashtra government Tuesday approved a proposal to allot 5.5 acre land to Whistling Woods International (WWI), the film school founded by Bollyood producer Subhash Ghai, for a lease period of 30 years.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the state cabinet here, Principal Secretary (Culture) Bhushan Gagrani told PTI.

"The land will be given on a 30 year lease to WWI. The amount to be recovered is as per a June 30, 1992 Government Resolution on land allotment to educational institutions," Gagrani said.

"So far, Mukta Arts (Ghai's company) has paid Rs 13 crore to the government as per court order," he said.

An official in the Chief Minister's Office said the cabinet decision has been taken after "due legal opinion" and after considering all court cases.

In July this year, the Bombay High Court had asked Mukta Arts to pay Rs 10.3 crore in six instalments to the Maharashtra State Film, Stage and Cultural Development Corporation (MSFSCDC), which operates the Dadasaheb Phalke Chitranagari (Film City in Mumbai) where the institute is located.

The court had also asked the state government to resolve the dispute over the remaining 5.5 acre land, an official said.

WWI was set up in 2000 and is now affiliated to Tata Institute of Social Science (TISS), an official said. The provisions of government policy for allotment of land to educational institutions would be applicable for WWI, he added.

In July 2014, the Bombay High Court had asked WWI to pay Rs 10.38 crore as lease amount to MFSCDC.

The court had then stayed its earlier order asking WWI to vacate the premises. The lease amount was towards the rent arrears since 2000 when the 20-acre land was allotted to WWI by the then Vilasrao Deshmukh-led government in Maharashtra.

In April 2012, the Supreme Court had pulled up Deshmukh for allotting the land, saying the CM cannot bend or bypass rules to give away government land.

"One cannot be treated as blue-eyed boy for which chief minister can bend or bypass rules to give away the land of the state," it had said. There was lack of transparency in the allotment of land as many chief ministers prior to Deshmukh had not cleared the project, the court had said.

"The state government has given land to its blue-eyed boy for a paltry sum of money," the court had said. "You (Ghai) are a great film maker, but there are greater film makers also. Why have you been chosen? There must be transparency," the court had observed.

The land was alloted to Ghai's institute pursuant to a May 30, 2004 joint venture agreement signed between Mukta Arts and the MFSCDC.

The high court had earlier referred to a CAG report which stated that the land ought to have been valued at Rs 31.20 crore as opposed to the Rs three crore valuation done by MFSCDC.