Dr Sathyabhama Badreenath the newly appointed Director of Monuments at the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) headquarters in New Delhi has today assured Adv. Aires Rodrigues that swift action would be taken against Power Minister Pandurang Madkaikar’s illegal wall and the landscaping done by him within 100 mts of the Basilica of Bom Jesus at Old Goa.
Adv. Rodrigues has stated that he had today telephonically spoken to Dr. Badreenath and expressed to her the concern over the ASI dragging its feet on taking action in accordance with law against the blatant illegality by Pandurang Madkaikar.
The earlier Director of Monuments Dr. D.N.Dimri was suddenly shunted out earlier this month after he had sought an immediate report from the Goa office of the ASI on the illegal construction by Pandurang Madkaikar within the Protected area.
Adv. Aires Rodrigues in his complaint in April this year to the ASI and various other authorities had pointed out that Pandurang Madkaikar had constructed the compound wall within less than 50 metres from the prohibited area of the Central Protected Monument of the Basilica of Bom Jesus.
Adv. Rodrigues in his complaint had also drawn the attention that Pandurang Madkaikar on 13th June 2011 had given a written undertaking to the Secretary of Archives and Archaeology that he wouldwithin three months dismantle at his own cost the fencing which falls within the prohibited 100 metres from the Basilica of Bom Jesus.
On 3rd November 2015 the ASI had asked the Old Goa Police Inspector to register an F.I.R against Pandurang Madkaikar over the unauthorized compound wall and had also endorsed a copy to the local authorities including the North Goa Collector and the local Panchayat but no action was taken.
The plot admeasuring 35,125 sq mts adjacent to the Basilica of Bom Jesus on which the bungalow has been built was bought by Nikitasha Realtors Pvt Ltd represented by its Managing Director Janita Pandurang Madkaikar on 11th October 2004 from Marcel based Swarnabhumi Builders for twenty lakhs while Pandurang Madkaikar was the Revenue Minister. That agricultural land was granted conversion by the Town & Country Planning department on 7th February 2008 and the Sanad obtained on 3rd March 2008 all when Pandurang Madkaikar was the Transport Minister.
The construction licence for the bungalow was issued within a fortnight with the licence applied on 15th January 2013 and the Panchayat issuing it on 2nd February 2013.Nikitasha Realtors Pvt Ltd owned by Pandurang Madkaikar on 5th January this year applied for the Occupancy certificate which was granted by the Old Goa Panchayat headed by Pandurang Madkaikar’s wife Sarpanch Janita Madkaikar within a week on 11th January after getting it approved at the meeting of the Panchayat held on 8th January. Power Minister Pandurang Madkaikar moved into the bungalow on April 1st this year.
Meanwhile, the Goa Lokayukta Justice P.K. Misra will on September 10th continue hearing the complaint filed by Adv. Aires Rodrigues over the huge disproportionate assets acquired by Power Minister Pandurang Madkaikar. The Lokayukta has already issued notices to Power Minister Pandurang Madkaikar, the Chief Secretary and the SP of the Anti- Corruption Branch (ACB) seeking their comments on the complaint filed by Adv. Rodrigues. Adv. Rodrigues on 7th June had filed a complaint with the Lokayukta over the inaction of the ACB in probing the complaint against Pandurang Madkaikar.
Pointing out that Pandurang Madkaikar’s Nikitasha Realtors Pvt Ltd had on 1st April this year inaugurated a huge palacial bungalow at Old Goa estimated to have cost around a whopping 200 crores, Adv. Aires Rodrigues in his complaint on 9th May had demanded that the ACB register an FIR under Sections 13(1) (d) & (e) of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1988 and Section 120-B of Indian Penal Code against Pandurang Madkaikar and his wife Janita Madkaikar and to speedily investigate the case.
Adv. Rodrigues along with his complaint gave the ACB photographs of the bungalow and a copy of the Affidavit dated 13th January 2017 filed by Pandurang Madkaikar along with his nomination papers at the 2017 Assembly Elections while drawing the attention of the ACB that in his Income-tax returns for the financial year 2015-16 Pandurang Madkaikar had shown his total income for the year as a mere Rs 1, 44,389 and that of his wife Janita, a paltry sum of Rs 24,389.
Adv. Rodrigues in his complaint stated that amongst his other liabilities and dues Pandurang Madkaikar had shown a Personal loan of 10 lakhs he had taken from Shiv Samarth Motors owned by Revenue Minister Rohan Khaunte and another Personal loan of 5 lakhs obtained from his brother Dhaku Madkaikar.
Adv. Rodrigues further stated that amongst Janita Madkaikar’s other liabilities and dues, was a Personal loan of 10 lakhs she had obtained from Rajesh Khaunte the brother of Rohan Khaunte and another Personal loan of Rs 6, 24, 361 she got from her husband Pandurang Madkaikar.
Stating that a perusal of the Affidavit of assets and liabilities filed by Pandurang Madkaikar clearly reveals that the construction of this new palacial bungalow at Old Goa was clearly disproportionate to the known source of income of Pandurang Madkaikar his wife Janita, Adv. Rodrigues also drew the attention of the ACB that the Madkaikars had in their affidavit shown that they owed only one residential building at Old Goa in Survey No. 143/1 with the plot admeasuring 875 sq mts and the total built-up area 580.7 sq mts valued at Rs. 69,68,400/.
