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An Ambani dream that may not come true: The Hindustan Times
Mumbai, July 09: Business tycoon and Reliance Industries Limited founder Dhirubhai Ambani won accolades posthumously from President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam and other dignitaries on Sunday in Mumbai, as a dreamer who saw all his dreams come true. But one dream of his sons - Anil and Mukesh - to construct a palace at Mumbai`s elite Peddar Road may just not happen.
Mumbai, July 09: Business tycoon and Reliance Industries Limited founder Dhirubhai Ambani won accolades posthumously from President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam and other dignitaries on Sunday in Mumbai, as a dreamer who saw all his dreams come true. But one dream of his sons - Anil and Mukesh - to construct a palace at Mumbai's elite Peddar Road may just not happen.
The Waqf Board - a government supported body governing land deals by Muslim charitable trusts - on Tuesday ordered a stay on a deal involving the transfer of some waqf land to Reliance Industries Limited.
A house for the Ambanis titled Ambani Palace is being constructed on the plot that belonged to a Shiite orphanage. The stay order follows a suspicious deal by the trust officials. The decision of the Board has been conveyed to the BMC, the City Collector and the Charity Commissioner, who oversees the functioning of the Waqf Board.
The Shiite trust used to operate an orphanage on a sprawling 6,000 square metre plot of land at Altamount Road, near Peddar Road - one of the Mumbai's most elite addresses. The Jairambhai Peerbhai Yatimkhana was operational since 1960 and the land came under the purview of the Waqf Board in 1996. The orphanage management sold the plot to RIL for Rs 38 crore, much below its market price. The deal was not presented to the Board, neither was it properly cleared by the Charity Commissioner.
Work to construct the Ambani Palace on the plot started a couple of years back after the orphanage was shifted to another place in Khandala.
The Waqf Board members, including Maharashtra Housing Minister Sayyed Ahmed, Minister of State for Housing Nawab Malik, MA Aziz, Hafiz Dhatture and others on Tuesday had a marathon meeting at Mantralaya, the State secretariat. The issue of the sale of the plot came up at the meeting and it turned out that the orphanage's management violated the stipulated rules in making the deal. RIL is not at fault in the deal, according to Mantralaya sources.
Charity Commissioner Shivajirao Dhumal has admitted that a junior officer at the Commissionerate was at fault in clearing the deal. The Commissionerate has reviewed the deal and the Waqf Board's decision to stay the transaction on the site was valid, according to Dhumal.
The BMC is likely to issue a stay order based on the Waqf Board decision, it is learnt. This simply means the palace will never be.
A house for the Ambanis titled Ambani Palace is being constructed on the plot that belonged to a Shiite orphanage. The stay order follows a suspicious deal by the trust officials. The decision of the Board has been conveyed to the BMC, the City Collector and the Charity Commissioner, who oversees the functioning of the Waqf Board.
The Shiite trust used to operate an orphanage on a sprawling 6,000 square metre plot of land at Altamount Road, near Peddar Road - one of the Mumbai's most elite addresses. The Jairambhai Peerbhai Yatimkhana was operational since 1960 and the land came under the purview of the Waqf Board in 1996. The orphanage management sold the plot to RIL for Rs 38 crore, much below its market price. The deal was not presented to the Board, neither was it properly cleared by the Charity Commissioner.
Work to construct the Ambani Palace on the plot started a couple of years back after the orphanage was shifted to another place in Khandala.
The Waqf Board members, including Maharashtra Housing Minister Sayyed Ahmed, Minister of State for Housing Nawab Malik, MA Aziz, Hafiz Dhatture and others on Tuesday had a marathon meeting at Mantralaya, the State secretariat. The issue of the sale of the plot came up at the meeting and it turned out that the orphanage's management violated the stipulated rules in making the deal. RIL is not at fault in the deal, according to Mantralaya sources.
Charity Commissioner Shivajirao Dhumal has admitted that a junior officer at the Commissionerate was at fault in clearing the deal. The Commissionerate has reviewed the deal and the Waqf Board's decision to stay the transaction on the site was valid, according to Dhumal.
The BMC is likely to issue a stay order based on the Waqf Board decision, it is learnt. This simply means the palace will never be.