Ahmedabad, 6 October 2012

Certain statements recently made by the President of the Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee Mr. Arjun Modhwadia questioning the independence of Hon’ble Justice MB Shah Commission of Inquiry have been strongly refuted and condemned by advocates Mr. Bhaskar Tanna (Senior Advocate), and Ms. Mahrook Kerravala and Kartikeya Tanna of Tanna Associates who appeared for the Gujarat Government in the Inquiry Commission.

“These statements are utterly irresponsible and disrespectful. It seems Mr. Modhwadia has forgotten that this is the same Justice MB Shah who has been appointed by the Congress-led Central Government to head the Commission of Inquiry for Illegal Mining of Iron Ore and Manganese. His recent report on illegal mining in Goa has been accepted by the Central Government and tabled before the Parliament. Mr. Modhwadia never objected to his own party’s appointment and acceptance of the report. Why these double standards? Is it merely because the Commission did not agree with their baseless and unsubstantiated allegations contrary to what they were hoping for?”, Mr. Tanna asked.

This Commission of Inquiry was appointed by the Gujarat Government pursuant to Mr. Shaktisinh Gohil and Arjun Modhvadia of the Gujarat Congress submitting a memorandum to the President of India detailing alleged instances of corruption and favouring along with supporting annexure.

“The Commission has been inquiring into these allegations since it was instituted last year in August. The first report on 9 out of the 15 allegations has been submitted after one full year. Allegations of Gujarat Congress that the Commission has acted hastily are, therefore, ludicrous. In fact, the Commission has examined voluminous records submitted by the Gujarat Government and heard our arguments at length before arriving at its conclusion. It seems that the election season has prompted Mr. Modhwadia and the Gujarat Congress to obtain political mileage by making wild allegations on the process followed in this independent inquiry”, Mr. Tanna added.

“Moreover, Justice Shah’s report on Goa mining will also be reviewed by the Supreme Court in Mr. Prashant Bhushan’s current petition in the Supreme Court which has directed all mining operations in Goa to be halted. I may also point out here that this report has been praised by the UK Parliament through an Early Day Motion”, Kartikeya added.

This report has not yet been made public as the Gujarat Government is currently examining it in detail. However, the broad findings in this report are a blow to Gujarat Congress’ intention to raise the issue of irregular land allotments and accompanying malpractices in the ongoing election season.

Rejecting Mr. Modhwadia’s recent statements that he would ‘seize’ land allotted to industrialists if his party came to power, Kartikeya added “if he has, indeed, made those statements, it reflects a total lack of understanding of the law. Neither the Commission nor any court has found any illegality in the allotment. India is not a banana republic. Unless Mr. Modhwadia’s intention is to turn it into one, this is legally impermissible.”

Land to Tata Nano

In the case of concessions given to Tata Nano, Ms. Kerravala stated “the jantri rate of the land allotted to Tata Nano was Rs 520 per square meter at the relevant point of time. Yet, Tata Motors was allotted land at Rs. 900. Moreover, when Tata Motors had to relocate the Nano project out of West Bengal, five States were competing for its investment. The allegation of a 9,000 crore ‘loan’ given to Tata Motors is baseless. The concession given to Tata Motors is a tax deferment benefit at 0.10% interest for 20 years up to a maximum amount of 330% of the eligible investment made by it. No ‘lending’ has taken place. Such fiscal benefits are provided by various States and are, in fact, recommended under Central government’s Automotive Mission 2006-2016.”

On the question of land not being auctioned, Ms. Kerravala added “there has never been a policy for allotting land for industrial purposes by way of auction. This policy has been in place even during previous Congress governments. The current Gujarat Government is of the view that land is not a source of revenue maximization, but that of enabling widespread economic development. The development, stimulation in economic activity in ancillary industries and employment generation – direct, indirect and induced, in and around the Sanand area is there for everyone to see.”

“This does not mean that the land is allotted free of cost. The price is determined in a scientific manner in a three-step process by different committees as we explained to the Commission”, Ms. Kerravala clarified.

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