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By:

Abhijit Mulye

21 August 2024 at 11:29:11 am

Multi-Crore ‘Land Jihad’ unearthed

Lawyer reclaims grabbed properties, exposes administrative lapses Advocate Sanjeev Deshpande Mumbai: In Bhusaval, a glaring example of what is being termed ‘Land Jihad’ has recently been brought to light, exposing a systematic grab of prime real estate worth hundreds of crores. At the center of this revelation is a hard-fought legal victory that successfully vacated ill-intentioned occupants from a plush property, prompting urgent calls for the administration to remain vigilant against...

Multi-Crore ‘Land Jihad’ unearthed

Lawyer reclaims grabbed properties, exposes administrative lapses Advocate Sanjeev Deshpande Mumbai: In Bhusaval, a glaring example of what is being termed ‘Land Jihad’ has recently been brought to light, exposing a systematic grab of prime real estate worth hundreds of crores. At the center of this revelation is a hard-fought legal victory that successfully vacated ill-intentioned occupants from a plush property, prompting urgent calls for the administration to remain vigilant against fraudulent land acquisitions. The catalyst for uncovering this massive scam was a protracted legal battle fought by the Central Cine Circuit Association (CCCA), an organisation comprising over 800 film distributors across Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Rajasthan. Seeking a headquarters and guest house for their traveling members, the CCCA purchased a sprawling 5,000-square-foot bungalow in a prime locality in Bhusaval from a senior Parsi individual residing in Mumbai. Although the sale deed was executed in 1993, the notice of ownership change inexplicably failed to reach or was ignored by the local city survey office. This administrative blind spot lay dormant until 2024, when the family of one Afzal Kalu Gawali forcibly entered the premises and took illegal possession of the property. Physical Muscle Lacking the physical muscle to evict the encroachers, the CCCA was forced into an agonising two-year legal marathon spearheaded by Advocate Sanjeev Deshpande. The fight demanded navigating a labyrinth of government offices, from the Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) and Bhusaval Sessions Court to the revenue tribunal, the High Court, and even Mantralaya. The process involved digging through decades-old records, exposing forged documents, and pleading with officials to rectify the injustice. The persistence finally paid off when the SDM ruled in favor of the CCCA on April 9, 2026. When the illegal occupants still refused to leave, police intervention was secured to forcibly vacate the premises, allowing CCCA employees to finally re-enter their headquarters on April 16 after a gap of nearly two years, said Sanjay Surana, president of CCCA. Fight Continues For Deshpande, the fight is far from over. During his exhaustive hunt for documents, he uncovered a deeply disturbing and systematic pattern of land grabbing operating in the region. The conmen utilised a calculated modus operandi. They tactfully acquired a power of attorney from the descendants of the original Parsi owners and forged purchase documents. Shockingly, the paperwork claimed that the CCCA bungalow, currently valued at around Rs 5 crore, was purchased by daily wage earners for a mere Rs 6 lakh. Deshpande discovered that this same syndicate had successfully encroached upon other highly valuable plots, including a six-acre cemetery (Aramgah) belonging to the Parsi Anjuman Fund and a significant parcel of land owned by the Masonic Lodge, an international religious institute. In total, the collective value of these illegally grabbed properties is estimated to easily surpass Rs 300 crore. The Masonic Lodge property is back to rightful owners after a battle at the High Court. But, for the Aramgah property, still much needs to be done, he said. This staggering real estate heist points to a severe breakdown in administrative oversight. Deshpande strongly emphasises that if the office of the Sub-Registrar at Bhusaval had conducted even a preliminary inquiry or verified the glaringly disproportionate financial details of these transactions, the fraudulent nature of the sales would have been immediately apparent.

Chasing Trillions and the Mirage of 2047

Updated: Jan 30, 2025

Part 2:

India’s economy is growing, but will it grow fast enough to reach its ambitious targets?

India’s economy

Ahead of the Union Budget 2025, India’s economic outlook remains a mixture of promise and caution, with key indicators pointing to both resilience and areas of concern. To fully grasp the state of India’s economy, one must look beyond the headlines and into the numbers. At its core, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) serves as the most common yardstick, measured in two forms: Nominal GDP, which reflects the total value of goods and services at current prices, and Real GDP, which adjusts for inflation to enable meaningful comparisons over time. While the GDP growth rate usually refers to the latter, the size of the economy is expressed in terms of the former.


After an impressive GDP growth of 8.2 percent in FY 2023-24, India’s economy slowed to roughly 6 percent in the first half of the current fiscal year. Opposition parties have been quick to seize on the downturn, but the broader context is less grim. The OECD’s December 2024 outlook pegged global growth at 3.2 percent, with India projected to expand by 6.8 percent in FY 2024-25 - more than double the pace of developed economies, which are expected to grow at a mere 3 percent. By that measure, India’s resilience is undeniable.


Digging deeper into the components, Private Final Consumption Expenditure (PFCE) grew by 6.7 percent in the first half of FY 2024-25, bolstered by robust rural demand even as urban consumption softened. Meanwhile, Gross Fixed Capital Formation (GFCF), which represents investment in fixed assets, expanded by 6.4 percent in the same period. However, GFCF growth faltered in the second quarter due to a slowdown in government capital expenditure and a cautious private sector wary of election-related uncertainty, geopolitical risks, excess industrial capacity, and the threat of cheap imports flooding the market. The tremors were felt in lacklustre corporate earnings, which in turn dragged down stock indices.


Government Final Consumption Expenditure (GFCE), after contracting in the first quarter, rebounded with 4.1 percent growth in the second. The election-induced slowdown in public spending was inevitable, as the Model Code of Conduct put a temporary freeze on policy decisions. By August 2024, with a new government in place and a fresh budget passed, the wheels of expenditure began turning again. Public investment, particularly in infrastructure, is a crucial driver of economic momentum, and its revival could well determine the trajectory of the coming quarters.


Trade figures presented a mixed picture. Merchandise exports grew a modest 1 percent, driven by non-oil shipments, while merchandise imports climbed 6.2 percent, with non-oil, non-gold/silver imports rising by 3.9 percent. A $0.5 billion current account surplus in Q1 turned into a $21.4 billion deficit by Q2, reflecting a widening trade imbalance that weighed on GDP growth.


The third quarter, however, was marked by a buoyant festive season and an uptick in government spending. Large capital-intensive firms saw their order books swell by 23 percent in FY 2024, far outpacing the compound annual growth rate of 5 percent seen in previous years. As these projects move from planning to execution, industrial activity is already showing signs of revival, setting the stage for stronger numbers in the second half of the fiscal year.


By sheer scale, the Indian economy remains formidable. In the first half of FY 2024-25, its nominal GDP stood at Rs. 153.91 lakh crores—approximately $1.8 trillion. Projections from the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation estimate nominal GDP for the full fiscal year at Rs. 324.11 lakh crores, or roughly $3.8 trillion. Yet, for all the talk of economic milestones, the dream of a $5 trillion economy, championed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, remains just that - a dream, at least for now. Even breaching the $4 trillion mark by 2025 appears increasingly unlikely.


Beyond sheer numbers, the bigger challenge lies in India’s long-term goal: achieving ‘Vikasit Bharat’ - developed nation status by 2047. One benchmark for this transformation is a per capita GDP between $12,000 and $15,000. India’s current figure? $2,939 in FY 2025. To meet the 2047 target, annual growth must sustain a minimum 6.5 percent trajectory. So far, the economy is holding steady but will it be enough? The next wave of high-frequency indicators may provide the answer.


(The author is a Chartered Accountant and works at Authomotive Division of Mahindra and Mahindra Limited. Views personal.)

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