PUNE, May 30: Chief Minister Manohar Joshi has dealt a virtual body blow to Congress bigwigs from this district by initiating the process of acquisition of their ``lucrative'' tracts of land in the vicinity of Mhalunge, near here, for his government's ambitious mega-city project.

``It is both exasperating and embarrassing for us as our dreams of making mega-bucks from these tracts along the proposed Pune-Mumbai expressway alignment lay shattered,'' admitted a senior Congressman after much prodding.

A number of Sharad Pawar confidantes including sitting MLA Ashok Mohol, MLCs Krishnarao Bhegde and Shivajirao Bhosale, MPCC general secretary Madan Bafna, district unit chief Jagannath Shewale and former MP Vidura Navale, took to the streets to protest against the State Government's unexpected decision.

Well-placed official sources confirmed that all these Congress bigwigs do own huge tracts of land in either Mhalunge, Sus, Baner, Wakad, Tathawade or Kiwale, and so were opposing the mega-city project. The deals, a majority of them ``benami'' or existing on sale deeds and not on the 7/12 extracts as required under the Maharashtra Land Acquisition Act 1894, were made around 1993, according to official sources.

``Speculative land deals were at the peak during that time as the Balewadi sports complex was coming up, the expressway alignment was being finalised and the draft Pune Regional Plan for 1990-2011 was ready,'' sources explained.

The Congressmen who had indulged in the speculative land deals while in power were hopeful of working out an ``amicable'' solution with Pawar's successor. And Joshi it seems kept them guessing throughout.

Joshi's latest ``master stroke'' generated considerable heat as his rivals were left fuming. The Congressmen also created a lot of fuss but soon ran out of fuel. A long-drawn battle on this issue was ruled out by a saffron alliance MLA from Pune.

``The Congressmen will never oppose the express-way as it was publicised as Sharad Pawar's brainchild while they were in power. Now they cannot afford to oppose the mega-city project because it was floated by the saffron alliance government to part finance the express-way,'' he said.

For the Congressmen, it apparently came as a bolt from the blue when the district collectorate and public works department did a quick job of conducting joint measurements of the 422 hectares required for the mega-city project, early this week.

Joshi had a ministerial colleague monitoring the exercise initiated at a short notice of 12 hours. The Congressmen also seemed to be unaware that their agitation was being videographed and Joshi's trusted minister was watching the action from a close distance through the tinted glass of a private vehicle.

``The Chief Minister deceived us. He indulged us in talks over the issue, kept us in the dark and went for the kill,'' Bhosale told The Indian Express. Conceding that a few party colleagues including himself did own land in either of the six villages, the Congress MLC, however, underlined the need to protect the larger interest of small farmers, plot holders and housing societies of middle-class land owners.

``What is wrong in investing in real estate?'' queried a staunch Pawar loyalist who had himself indulged in speculations at Tathawade. ``The proposal for converting the land was still pending, Yes. But what right does the government have to crush the dreams of the poor?'' he sought to know.

Joshi, however, is understood to be firm on setting up the mega-city on the 422 hectares where the six villages exist today.

Congress calls off stir againIn an interesting development, Congressmen opposed to the Maharashtra Government's mega-city project abruptly called off their indefinite fast on Thursday afternoon at the behest of their leader Sharad Pawar.Pawar, who has entered the fray for the post of party president, took time off to scribble a message to his supporters back home, suggesting that they stop agitating if the State rulers were ready for resolving the issue across the table.

The copy of the letter, which was released to the local media by the Congress district unit, stated that the partymen should call off the indefinite fast if the State government was prepared to hold talks with a delegation of the affected farmers from the six villages near Pune.

Pawar has further stated that he too would be getting in touch with the State government. This message was faxed from New Delhi yesterday to the Congress district unit chief Jagannath Shewale.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.