Ambani dream house stands on shaky ground
Is the Maharashtra government dillydallying on ordering a CBI inquiry into the issue of the alleged illegal sale of Waqf land to industrialist Mukesh Ambani for his 27- storey ultra luxury home that is worth nearly $ 2 billion? The state government had received a letter from the Union government in June, asking it to consider ' referring' the matter to the premier investigating agency to probe the land deal. The state has, however, not taken any decision on the matter yet.
The Rs 500- crore plot was shown to have been sold by the Karimbhai Ibrahimbhai Khoja Charitable Trust for just Rs 21 crore. The piece of land was originally reserved for educating children of the Khoja Muslim community.
A notice was served to the trust by the Maharashtra government in 2004 over the transaction. It was, however, withdrawn after the state got ` 16 lakh from the trust to regularise the deal.
This Waqf land deal has sparked rows earlier, too. In 2007, then minority affairs minister Anish Ahmed had mentioned a number of irregularities in the sale of the land and had asked the Maharashtra State Waqf Board to take back the plot. However, in a curious development, while the minister kept claiming the sale was illegal, then chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh said there were no irregularities in the deal.
http://in.finance.yahoo.com/news/Ambani ... 20233.html
Waqf Land Given For A Pittance To Mukesh Ambani.
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ghulam muhammed
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ghulam muhammed
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Re: Waqf Land Given For A Pittance To Mukesh Ambani.
Why Mukesh Ambani refuses to live in the 'world's most expensive house'
India's wealthiest man Mukesh Ambani has incited a public debate by refusing to live in his 27-storey, billion-dollar tower in Mumbai, called Antilia-also dubbed world's most expensive home.
According to reports, the Ambani family is concerned the building fails to conform with the ancient Indian architectural principles of vastu shastra- an obscure Hindu version of feng shui, and has refused to move in for fear the home will curse them with bad luck, reports the Daily Mail.
Instead of moving into their dream home, the Ambanis continue to stay in the more modest, 14-storey apartment tower at the south end of the city that they share, on different floors, with the rest of their extended family.
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_wh ... se_1603664
India's wealthiest man Mukesh Ambani has incited a public debate by refusing to live in his 27-storey, billion-dollar tower in Mumbai, called Antilia-also dubbed world's most expensive home.
According to reports, the Ambani family is concerned the building fails to conform with the ancient Indian architectural principles of vastu shastra- an obscure Hindu version of feng shui, and has refused to move in for fear the home will curse them with bad luck, reports the Daily Mail.
Instead of moving into their dream home, the Ambanis continue to stay in the more modest, 14-storey apartment tower at the south end of the city that they share, on different floors, with the rest of their extended family.
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_wh ... se_1603664
Re: Waqf Land Given For A Pittance To Mukesh Ambani.
It is an irony. An unlivable 2 billion dollar house is a lot of bad luck in itself!!
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ghulam muhammed
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Re: Waqf Land Given For A Pittance To Mukesh Ambani.
Karnataka wakf scam runs into Rs 2 lakh crore
The biggest scam in the history of India has been uncovered in Karnataka by the state minorities commission.
The commission had done an extensive survey of the whole wakf properties of the state for the last 3 months. When it submitted its report on Monday it shocked not only Karnataka but the whole nation at large. According to the report more than 22,000 properties, measuring around 54,000 acres of land worth Rs 2 lakh crore of the Wakf Board have been embezzled by politicians, land mafia and wakf board members over the last decade in the Karnataka state.
Apart from powerful politicians, and land mafia, several Wakf Board members, Wakf officials, middlemen have been involved in this scam. Misappropriation of Wakf land has taken place in city areas rather than in rural area nearly about 85 per cent of misappropriation has happened in city areas” The report contains name of 38 politicians involved in the wakf scam.
"This has been done by the people of the community, leaders of the community, businessmen, and middlemen and various other people. No property of the Wakf board can be shared with anybody or sold or bought or anything. It should be used only for the benefit of the poor Muslims in particular or others in general. Once a property is made a Wakf property then it is always going to remain a Wakf property. Wakf board officials cannot sell it, it is illegal if they are adhering to some compromise,"
The report states that the Wakf board functionaries helped transfer the land to private individuals and institutions over the last 11 years and that a major chunk of the property sold off illegally was in Bangalore, where land rates are highest.
The unearthing of wakf scandal by Karnataka minorities commission once again shows the plight of wakf properties which are meant to serve the poor Muslims. It showcases the negligence and corruption going on in the Wakf board not only in Karnataka but in the whole nation.
http://twocircles.net/2012mar28/karnata ... ction.html
The biggest scam in the history of India has been uncovered in Karnataka by the state minorities commission.
The commission had done an extensive survey of the whole wakf properties of the state for the last 3 months. When it submitted its report on Monday it shocked not only Karnataka but the whole nation at large. According to the report more than 22,000 properties, measuring around 54,000 acres of land worth Rs 2 lakh crore of the Wakf Board have been embezzled by politicians, land mafia and wakf board members over the last decade in the Karnataka state.
Apart from powerful politicians, and land mafia, several Wakf Board members, Wakf officials, middlemen have been involved in this scam. Misappropriation of Wakf land has taken place in city areas rather than in rural area nearly about 85 per cent of misappropriation has happened in city areas” The report contains name of 38 politicians involved in the wakf scam.
"This has been done by the people of the community, leaders of the community, businessmen, and middlemen and various other people. No property of the Wakf board can be shared with anybody or sold or bought or anything. It should be used only for the benefit of the poor Muslims in particular or others in general. Once a property is made a Wakf property then it is always going to remain a Wakf property. Wakf board officials cannot sell it, it is illegal if they are adhering to some compromise,"
The report states that the Wakf board functionaries helped transfer the land to private individuals and institutions over the last 11 years and that a major chunk of the property sold off illegally was in Bangalore, where land rates are highest.
The unearthing of wakf scandal by Karnataka minorities commission once again shows the plight of wakf properties which are meant to serve the poor Muslims. It showcases the negligence and corruption going on in the Wakf board not only in Karnataka but in the whole nation.
http://twocircles.net/2012mar28/karnata ... ction.html
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ghulam muhammed
- Posts: 11653
- Joined: Tue Oct 07, 2008 5:34 pm
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ghulam muhammed
- Posts: 11653
- Joined: Tue Oct 07, 2008 5:34 pm
Re: Waqf Land Given For A Pittance To Mukesh Ambani.
Excerpts from a very interesting article on looting and mismanagement of waqf properties in India :-
Understanding Waqf
Under Muslim rule in India the concept of Waqf was more broadly comprehended as aligned with the spirit of charitable contributions approved by the Quran. Waqf implies the endowment of property, moveable or immovable, tangible or intangible to Allah by a Muslim, under the premise that the transfer will benefit the deprived. As a legal transaction, the Waqif (settler) appoints himself or another truthful person as Mutawalli (Manager) in an endowment deed (Waqf-namaah) to oversee the Waqf (charitable trust). As it implies a surrender of properties to Allah, a Waqf deed is unchangeable and everlasting. In harmony with the true spirit of Islam, Indian Muslim rulers bigheartedly dedicated property such as land and its revenue rights to Awqaf (plural of Waqf) created with the aim of maintaining Mosques, Madrasas, Dragahs, Khanqahs, Maqbaras, Ashoorkhanas, Qabristans (graveyards), Takiyas, Idgahs, Imambaras, Anjumans, Tombs, Orphanages (yatimkhanas) etc. Besides the charitable intent that clearly underlined these donations, for instance, land could have been Waqf(ed) for the creation of a graveyard where poor people could bury their dead. These donations to Awqaf were also done with the interest of promoting the tenets of Islam. Under Muslim rule, the presence of Islamic courts overseen by Qazis ensured that the Mutawallis discharged their duties fairly. Their mismanagement of the properties was considered breach of the trust reposed in them for which they were duly punished. Therefore keeping all religious obligations in mind the Central Waqf Council, an Indian statutory body was established in 1964 by the Government of India under Waqf Act, 1954 for the purpose of advising it on matters pertaining to working of the State Waqf Board sand proper administration of the Wakfs in the country.
Loot of waqfs
The scam involving the Waqf properties that has surfaced in Karnataka is not an isolated case. Loot of the waqf estates has been going on all across the country. The mismanagement of the properties in India reflects the Muslim community’s failure to build a clean and organized establishment that could look after the vast estate efficiently. Most Muslims in India live in phenomenally bad socioeconomic condition. Poverty, lack of education and unemployment are rampant in the community. If the Waqf properties were managed or utilized the way they are supposed to be, many of the community’s perennial problems could have been resolved without any help from outside. Sadly, those, who wield power and have been installed as leaders in the community, have turned corrupt. Most of them sitting on top of the existing institutions that control the waqf estates have been found selling away the properties piece by piece, for personal gain. It frustrates us as we find that more than 70% of India’s Waqf estates have already been sold away in the past decades by our unscrupulous Muslim leaders.
There is a complex set of reasons for this state of affairs in institutions that claim to work for the benefit of the country’s largest minority and the world’s second-largest Muslim population. Even in the case of Waqf, political hangers-on and operators from the minority community are sent off to man the boards. The policies of successive governments have created a class of “Sarkari Musalmans” adept at capturing institutions and bagging positions through which they can patronize others down the pecking order.
Even common Muslims just see the Waqf placard and believe the land belongs to them. They are encouraged to believe there is some higher religious purpose to Waqf, little knowing the fact that it has become a synonym for daylight robbery. The greatest hypocrisy perhaps is that the men who violate the spirit of charity behind the concept of Waqf then pretend to be committed and dutiful believers. This resource has been mortgaged, sold and encroached upon with the connivance of the very institutions and individuals responsible for safeguarding it, turning it all into a systemic rot. The Waqf boards in most states of India are repositories of corruption, in league with local land sharks and builders. They continue to get away with the daylight robbery of their own community because, whenever there is any demand for scrutiny, they mischievously take cover behind the “Islam in danger” sentiment.
Some glaring examples of suspected land deals from across the land:
Chennai: In 1997, the Tamil Nadu Waqf Board took the decision to outright sell 1,710 square feet of land in the commercialized Triplicane High street in Madras for a paltry Rs 3 lakh. A sale like this would have required the sanction of at least two-thirds of the board members.
Mumbai: The Maharashtra Waqf Board got a measly Rs 16 lakh for 4,532square metres in the upscale Altamount Road on which none other than Mukesh Ambani has built his plush 27-storey home.
Bangalore: Developed on about five acres of land, the Windsor Manor hotel here was till recently giving the board a rent of Rs 12,000 a month for a property worth not less than Rs 500 crore.
Faridabad: The Waqf board has been leasing out about five acres of land on 11-month leases for several years at a ridiculously low rent between Rs 500 and Rs 1,500 per month. A factory was built at the place and land use altered.
Kolkata: Shaw Wallace was giving a miniscule amount as rent for the palatial building at the BBD Bag business district in Kolkata until the new Mutawalli of the Prince Ghulam Mohammed Waqf Estate dragged the corporate house to the court.
Modus operandi of the scamsters
Outright sale
Builder or businessman identifies a Waqf property.
They approach members of the board.
The land is sold for a pittance.
Board members get their cuts.
Discounted rent
It happens in states where outright sale is not encouraged.
Builder/ businessman approach board members.
The land is given on a ridiculously low lease.
Land use is changed to facilitate commercial exploitation.
Members pocket their cuts
Obvious allegation of malpractice against board
Although Waqf is a national reserve for use in building institutions and earn income for Muslims, it is so awfully managed that it is the only system where practically no accountability is demanded. Cases of unashamed corruption flourish. Land is sold off to make way for private buildings, hotels, malls or factories for a trifle or given out for shockingly low rents to commercial interests. The boards have become an avenue for political patronage. Muslims who cannot be accommodated in ministries are sent off here. They mostly never do anything to help the community. In most cases, they are hand-in-glove with the land mafia and encroachers. The mess in the boards also reflects the apathy of state governments. Many have not constituted boards; none have carried out a survey of Waqf properties as required by the 1995 Act.
As matter of fact WAQF is one of those areas in which accountability has not been demanded by anyone. The community itself has not demanded accountability, possibly because Muslims are ignorant about these issues. However, things tend to change once awareness builds up as it’s happening in Kerala, where Muslims are literate and demand accountability. The Waqf board is manned by professionals and headed by two advocates, not by racketeers. Even the Bureaucrats in the ministry of minority affairs in New Delhi cite the work done by Kerala Waqf board as example of good work and ask other states to emulate it.
There is no doubt that widespread misappropriation of the Waqf properties is taking place across India. Safeguarding the estates was the duty of the successive federal and state governments. But none performed their duty. The community itself is also responsible for the build-up of this Waqf mess. Muslims must understand that Waqf is a national resource that should have been tapped for use in the welfare of the “Muslim Community”.
Understanding Waqf
Under Muslim rule in India the concept of Waqf was more broadly comprehended as aligned with the spirit of charitable contributions approved by the Quran. Waqf implies the endowment of property, moveable or immovable, tangible or intangible to Allah by a Muslim, under the premise that the transfer will benefit the deprived. As a legal transaction, the Waqif (settler) appoints himself or another truthful person as Mutawalli (Manager) in an endowment deed (Waqf-namaah) to oversee the Waqf (charitable trust). As it implies a surrender of properties to Allah, a Waqf deed is unchangeable and everlasting. In harmony with the true spirit of Islam, Indian Muslim rulers bigheartedly dedicated property such as land and its revenue rights to Awqaf (plural of Waqf) created with the aim of maintaining Mosques, Madrasas, Dragahs, Khanqahs, Maqbaras, Ashoorkhanas, Qabristans (graveyards), Takiyas, Idgahs, Imambaras, Anjumans, Tombs, Orphanages (yatimkhanas) etc. Besides the charitable intent that clearly underlined these donations, for instance, land could have been Waqf(ed) for the creation of a graveyard where poor people could bury their dead. These donations to Awqaf were also done with the interest of promoting the tenets of Islam. Under Muslim rule, the presence of Islamic courts overseen by Qazis ensured that the Mutawallis discharged their duties fairly. Their mismanagement of the properties was considered breach of the trust reposed in them for which they were duly punished. Therefore keeping all religious obligations in mind the Central Waqf Council, an Indian statutory body was established in 1964 by the Government of India under Waqf Act, 1954 for the purpose of advising it on matters pertaining to working of the State Waqf Board sand proper administration of the Wakfs in the country.
Loot of waqfs
The scam involving the Waqf properties that has surfaced in Karnataka is not an isolated case. Loot of the waqf estates has been going on all across the country. The mismanagement of the properties in India reflects the Muslim community’s failure to build a clean and organized establishment that could look after the vast estate efficiently. Most Muslims in India live in phenomenally bad socioeconomic condition. Poverty, lack of education and unemployment are rampant in the community. If the Waqf properties were managed or utilized the way they are supposed to be, many of the community’s perennial problems could have been resolved without any help from outside. Sadly, those, who wield power and have been installed as leaders in the community, have turned corrupt. Most of them sitting on top of the existing institutions that control the waqf estates have been found selling away the properties piece by piece, for personal gain. It frustrates us as we find that more than 70% of India’s Waqf estates have already been sold away in the past decades by our unscrupulous Muslim leaders.
There is a complex set of reasons for this state of affairs in institutions that claim to work for the benefit of the country’s largest minority and the world’s second-largest Muslim population. Even in the case of Waqf, political hangers-on and operators from the minority community are sent off to man the boards. The policies of successive governments have created a class of “Sarkari Musalmans” adept at capturing institutions and bagging positions through which they can patronize others down the pecking order.
Even common Muslims just see the Waqf placard and believe the land belongs to them. They are encouraged to believe there is some higher religious purpose to Waqf, little knowing the fact that it has become a synonym for daylight robbery. The greatest hypocrisy perhaps is that the men who violate the spirit of charity behind the concept of Waqf then pretend to be committed and dutiful believers. This resource has been mortgaged, sold and encroached upon with the connivance of the very institutions and individuals responsible for safeguarding it, turning it all into a systemic rot. The Waqf boards in most states of India are repositories of corruption, in league with local land sharks and builders. They continue to get away with the daylight robbery of their own community because, whenever there is any demand for scrutiny, they mischievously take cover behind the “Islam in danger” sentiment.
Some glaring examples of suspected land deals from across the land:
Chennai: In 1997, the Tamil Nadu Waqf Board took the decision to outright sell 1,710 square feet of land in the commercialized Triplicane High street in Madras for a paltry Rs 3 lakh. A sale like this would have required the sanction of at least two-thirds of the board members.
Mumbai: The Maharashtra Waqf Board got a measly Rs 16 lakh for 4,532square metres in the upscale Altamount Road on which none other than Mukesh Ambani has built his plush 27-storey home.
Bangalore: Developed on about five acres of land, the Windsor Manor hotel here was till recently giving the board a rent of Rs 12,000 a month for a property worth not less than Rs 500 crore.
Faridabad: The Waqf board has been leasing out about five acres of land on 11-month leases for several years at a ridiculously low rent between Rs 500 and Rs 1,500 per month. A factory was built at the place and land use altered.
Kolkata: Shaw Wallace was giving a miniscule amount as rent for the palatial building at the BBD Bag business district in Kolkata until the new Mutawalli of the Prince Ghulam Mohammed Waqf Estate dragged the corporate house to the court.
Modus operandi of the scamsters
Outright sale
Builder or businessman identifies a Waqf property.
They approach members of the board.
The land is sold for a pittance.
Board members get their cuts.
Discounted rent
It happens in states where outright sale is not encouraged.
Builder/ businessman approach board members.
The land is given on a ridiculously low lease.
Land use is changed to facilitate commercial exploitation.
Members pocket their cuts
Obvious allegation of malpractice against board
Although Waqf is a national reserve for use in building institutions and earn income for Muslims, it is so awfully managed that it is the only system where practically no accountability is demanded. Cases of unashamed corruption flourish. Land is sold off to make way for private buildings, hotels, malls or factories for a trifle or given out for shockingly low rents to commercial interests. The boards have become an avenue for political patronage. Muslims who cannot be accommodated in ministries are sent off here. They mostly never do anything to help the community. In most cases, they are hand-in-glove with the land mafia and encroachers. The mess in the boards also reflects the apathy of state governments. Many have not constituted boards; none have carried out a survey of Waqf properties as required by the 1995 Act.
As matter of fact WAQF is one of those areas in which accountability has not been demanded by anyone. The community itself has not demanded accountability, possibly because Muslims are ignorant about these issues. However, things tend to change once awareness builds up as it’s happening in Kerala, where Muslims are literate and demand accountability. The Waqf board is manned by professionals and headed by two advocates, not by racketeers. Even the Bureaucrats in the ministry of minority affairs in New Delhi cite the work done by Kerala Waqf board as example of good work and ask other states to emulate it.
There is no doubt that widespread misappropriation of the Waqf properties is taking place across India. Safeguarding the estates was the duty of the successive federal and state governments. But none performed their duty. The community itself is also responsible for the build-up of this Waqf mess. Muslims must understand that Waqf is a national resource that should have been tapped for use in the welfare of the “Muslim Community”.
-
ghulam muhammed
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Re: Waqf Land Given For A Pittance To Mukesh Ambani.
Mukesh Ambani grabbed Waqf land by fraudulent means, govt. told
Mumbai: In a letter dashed to Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde Thursday a local NGO asserted that Reliance Industries Chief Mukesh Ambani had grabbed Waqf land by fraudulent means and urged the minister to initiate a high-level enquiry by Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against Ambani and others involved in the case.
"Government cannot reject a CBI inquiry on the ground that a probe is being currently conducted under the provisions of Commission of Inquiry Act 2003", President of the NGO Muslim-e-Hind, Ameen Idrisi, said while citing the example of the Adarsh Society scam in which simultaneous probes were conducted by the CBI and the judicial commission set up under the Commission of Inquiry Act. "
In Antilia matter too, CBI should launch FIR against the accused Mukesh Ambani, against the officials of Maharashtra Waqf Board and against the Minister of Waqf from 2003 till date for facilitating the accused Mukesh Ambani to encroach upon a Waqf Property and hatching a conspiracy to grab waqf property by adopting fraud", Idrisi added while addressing a press meet at Mumbai Marathi Patrakar Sangh on Saturday.
"The illegal role of the Charity Commissioner and the trustees should also be investigated by the CBI", he demanded.
"I found that there is a criminality in the said transaction and fraud has been committed by Mukesh Ambani, Office of the Charity Commissioner, Maharashtra Waqf Board and the trustees. All the accused had entered into criminal conspiracy and disposed of the Wqf Property worth more than 200 crores", Idrisi, who was accompanied by his lawyer Ejaz Naqvi, said.
Idrisi in a statement released during the meeting said that the land was owned by the Currimbhoy Ebrahim Khoja Yateemkhana (Orphanage), A Public Charitable Trust. The charitable institution sold the land allocated for the purpose of education of underprivileged Khoja children to Antillia Commercial Private Limited - allleged to be an entity controlled by Mukesh Ambani in July 2002 for 210.5 million (US$3.4 million). The prevailing market value of land at the time was at least Rupees 105 Crore,( 10.5 billion) (US$24 million).
The then Waqf minister Nawab Malik had opposed the land sale and so did the revenue department of the Government of Maharashtra. A stay order was consequently issued on the sale of the land in 2003. Also, in 2003 the Waqf board initially opposed the deal and filed a PIL in the Supreme Court challenging the decision of the trust. The Supreme Court however dismissed the petition and asked the Waqf board to approach the Bombay High court.
"The stay on the deal was subsequently vacated after the Waqf board withdrew its objection on receiving an amount of rupees sixteen lakhs ( 1.6 million) from Antilia Commercial Pvt Ltd - the company specially registered on behalf of Reliance Industries Ltd. to construct and pay charges for constructing the said building Antillia", Ameen Idrisi alleged in the written statement.
http://www.ummid.com/news/2014/March/16 ... gvB42.dpuf
Mumbai: In a letter dashed to Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde Thursday a local NGO asserted that Reliance Industries Chief Mukesh Ambani had grabbed Waqf land by fraudulent means and urged the minister to initiate a high-level enquiry by Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against Ambani and others involved in the case.
"Government cannot reject a CBI inquiry on the ground that a probe is being currently conducted under the provisions of Commission of Inquiry Act 2003", President of the NGO Muslim-e-Hind, Ameen Idrisi, said while citing the example of the Adarsh Society scam in which simultaneous probes were conducted by the CBI and the judicial commission set up under the Commission of Inquiry Act. "
In Antilia matter too, CBI should launch FIR against the accused Mukesh Ambani, against the officials of Maharashtra Waqf Board and against the Minister of Waqf from 2003 till date for facilitating the accused Mukesh Ambani to encroach upon a Waqf Property and hatching a conspiracy to grab waqf property by adopting fraud", Idrisi added while addressing a press meet at Mumbai Marathi Patrakar Sangh on Saturday.
"The illegal role of the Charity Commissioner and the trustees should also be investigated by the CBI", he demanded.
"I found that there is a criminality in the said transaction and fraud has been committed by Mukesh Ambani, Office of the Charity Commissioner, Maharashtra Waqf Board and the trustees. All the accused had entered into criminal conspiracy and disposed of the Wqf Property worth more than 200 crores", Idrisi, who was accompanied by his lawyer Ejaz Naqvi, said.
Idrisi in a statement released during the meeting said that the land was owned by the Currimbhoy Ebrahim Khoja Yateemkhana (Orphanage), A Public Charitable Trust. The charitable institution sold the land allocated for the purpose of education of underprivileged Khoja children to Antillia Commercial Private Limited - allleged to be an entity controlled by Mukesh Ambani in July 2002 for 210.5 million (US$3.4 million). The prevailing market value of land at the time was at least Rupees 105 Crore,( 10.5 billion) (US$24 million).
The then Waqf minister Nawab Malik had opposed the land sale and so did the revenue department of the Government of Maharashtra. A stay order was consequently issued on the sale of the land in 2003. Also, in 2003 the Waqf board initially opposed the deal and filed a PIL in the Supreme Court challenging the decision of the trust. The Supreme Court however dismissed the petition and asked the Waqf board to approach the Bombay High court.
"The stay on the deal was subsequently vacated after the Waqf board withdrew its objection on receiving an amount of rupees sixteen lakhs ( 1.6 million) from Antilia Commercial Pvt Ltd - the company specially registered on behalf of Reliance Industries Ltd. to construct and pay charges for constructing the said building Antillia", Ameen Idrisi alleged in the written statement.
http://www.ummid.com/news/2014/March/16 ... gvB42.dpuf
Re: Waqf Land Given For A Pittance To Mukesh Ambani.
they should pull down that crapy looking building soon.
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ghulam muhammed
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Re: Waqf Land Given For A Pittance To Mukesh Ambani.
Ambani's Antilia rated world's 'most outrageously expensive property'
Washington, May 15 (IANS) Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani's skyscraper Mumbai home Antilia - named after a mythical island in the Atlantic - has been rated as the world's "most outrageously expensive property" by Forbes magazine.
"The title of the most outrageously expensive property in the world still belongs to Mukesh Ambani's Antilia," it says.
The 27-storey, 400,000-square-foot skyscraper includes six stories of underground parking, three helicopter pads, and reportedly requires a staff of 600 to keep it running.
Construction costs for Antilia have been reported at a range of $1 billion to $2 billion.
To put that into perspective, Frobes notes "7 World Trade Centre, the 52-storey tower that stands just north of Ground Zero in Manhattan with 1.7 million square feet of office space, cost a reported $2 billion to build".
https://in.news.yahoo.com/ambanis-antil ... 04457.html
Washington, May 15 (IANS) Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani's skyscraper Mumbai home Antilia - named after a mythical island in the Atlantic - has been rated as the world's "most outrageously expensive property" by Forbes magazine.
"The title of the most outrageously expensive property in the world still belongs to Mukesh Ambani's Antilia," it says.
The 27-storey, 400,000-square-foot skyscraper includes six stories of underground parking, three helicopter pads, and reportedly requires a staff of 600 to keep it running.
Construction costs for Antilia have been reported at a range of $1 billion to $2 billion.
To put that into perspective, Frobes notes "7 World Trade Centre, the 52-storey tower that stands just north of Ground Zero in Manhattan with 1.7 million square feet of office space, cost a reported $2 billion to build".
https://in.news.yahoo.com/ambanis-antil ... 04457.html
-
ghulam muhammed
- Posts: 11653
- Joined: Tue Oct 07, 2008 5:34 pm
Re: Waqf Land Given For A Pittance To Mukesh Ambani.
Will the Bombay High Court Order a CBI Probe Into How the Ambanis Acquired Land For Antilia?
On Altamount Road in South Mumbai, the industrialist Mukesh Ambani’s 27-storied house, Antilia, a large, tetris block of a building, looms above the surrounding area. The building, whose construction began in 2006, is named after an island believed to have existed in the Atlantic Ocean during the fifteenth century. According to the storied legends, this island gave refuge to seven Christian bishops fleeing Muslim conquerors.
The Ambani house has acquired a legend-like quality of its own. It boasts of six levels of underground parking, and has three helicopter pads. It has a spa, a terrace gym, a ballroom and a service staff of 600 to look after it. A 2014 estimate by the American business magazine Forbes puts the construction cost of the building between Rs 6,000 to Rs 12,000 crore. A 2014 story in the British tabloid Daily Mail story ranked the building as the world’s most expensive privately-owned building—Queen Elizabeth’s Buckingham Palace in London is technically the most expensive, but did not qualify since it is considered a governmental property.
But for over a decade, the land on which Antilia stands has been mired in controversy. Situated in one of the most affluent neighbourhoods of the city, the land, even conservatively, was valued anywhere between Rs 200 crore in 2002 and Rs 500 crore in 2007, but the Ambanis, through their corporate entity Antilia Commercial Private Limited, acquired it for a little over Rs 20 crore—at most, a little over a tenth of the cost, but likely much lower considering the appreciation in real estate prices since then.
At the heart of this matter is a tussle between two laws. Although the original owners of the land, the Currimbhoy Ebrahimbhoy Khoja Orphanage, sold the land in 2002 as they were entitled to do under the Bombay Public Trust Act of 1950, the land actually fell under the Wakf Act of 1995—a law that governs properties set aside by philanthropists to be used for any objective considered pious, religious or charitable under Muslim law. This made the sale of the land without the permission of the respective state wakf board—which oversees the maintenance and administration of wakf property and land—illegal. In April 2004, the Maharashtra wakf board issued a notice to Antilia Commercial asking why the property should not be restored to the board. Though the trust eventually arrived at a settlement with the board, since then, many have claimed that their process was unscrupulous. The contest over the claim to the land has been ongoing since 2005, but neither the state nor the court has ordered any effective action. After the Bombay High Court admitted the social activist and businessman Shadaab Patel’s request for a public interest litigation (PIL) in the matter on earlier this month, it may once again be in a position to order a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) enquiry into the dispute.
Set up in 1892, the Currimbhoy Ebrahimbhoy Khoja Orphanage trust was, according to its constitution, meant to “provide maintenance and education to the orphane/destitute boys of the Khoja community.” The constitution also stipulates that the managing committee of the trust shall appoint a religious instructor to “teach the Koran and the general and fundamental principles of the Mohammadan religion to pupils of the orphanage.” With a mandate to house young boys and educate them about Islam, the trust was eligible to be qualified a Wakf property.
In 2007, the state government responded to the criticism it was facing for its inaction and ordered a one-man commission comprising the retired high court judge ATAK Sheikh to look into the legalities of several contested wakf properties.
Sheikh’s report, which was finally released last year, raised red flags against the two former CEOs and one former chairman of the Maharashtra wakf board involved in green-lighting the sale of the land that Antilia stands on today. Sheikh was of the opinion that the board members were guilty of misconduct for personal gain. He noted that he asked SS Ali Qadri, one of former CEOs of the Maharashtra wakf board named in Sheikh’s report, whether the provisions of Section 32 (2) (j) of the Wakf Act—which requires that two-thirds of the wakf board vote in favour of a sale of a wakf property for it to be sold—were followed before the sale of the property. Qadri told Sheikh that “the provisions of section 32 (2) (j of the Wakf Act “were not attracted in this matter.” Sheikh inferred that this meant that the property had not been treated as a wakf. Qadri, he added, “appears to have a ulterior motive, may be for his wrongful gain.” Sheikh believed that Qadri’s conduct, “by making such statement, was exposed to be hostile to the wakf, specially when the board of the wakf is consistently taking stand that it is a wakf property.”
Throughout these years, BJP MLAs continually raised the issue in the state assembly, asking the government to step in. In 2011, the BJP’s Eknath Khadse, the leader of the opposition, said that the Antilia property was worth Rs 500 crore. Khadse demanded a CBI probe into the matter. Muslim MLAs including Nawab Malik from the Congress supported his request.
Then, in mid-2011, perhaps responding to the attention the issue was receiving, the centre, too, suggested that the Maharashtra government institute a CBI inquiry into matter. With the pressure piling on it, the state government took the easy way out. It referred the central government’s suggestion to the state’s law and judiciary department for its opinion. Meanwhile, government officials took a stand that no CBI probe was warranted as Sheikh was conducting an inquiry under the Commission of Inquiry Act of 1952. This line of reasoning is specious at best; issues such as these are regularly investigated by multiple agencies simultaneously. In 2011, for instance, the Adarsh Society scam was being looked into by both the CBI and a judicial commission set up under the Inquiry act.
Earlier this month, Shadaab Patel filed a PIL in the Bombay High Court seeking a CBI probe into the sale of the property. In his PIL, Patel claimed that Rs 21 crore was only ten percent of the prevailing market rates at that time of the sale. He also alleged that the payment of Rs 16 lakh to settle a dispute over a property measuring 4532.39 square metres in a prime locality in Mumbai was akin to “purchasing peanuts.” According to Patel, the deal involved large-scale corruption, with the pockets of a select few bureaucrats being lined up at the cost of the welfare of the orphans for whom the property was set aside.
Coming now, Patel’s PIL could make a crucial difference to the case. In his PIL, he has asked for an inquiry by either a Special Investigative Team of the CBI. The Bombay High Court accepted his PIL, and on 4 May, sought replies from Antilia Commercial, the wakf board, the state government and others.
- See more at: http://www.caravanmagazine.in/vantage/b ... N1nH1.dpuf
On Altamount Road in South Mumbai, the industrialist Mukesh Ambani’s 27-storied house, Antilia, a large, tetris block of a building, looms above the surrounding area. The building, whose construction began in 2006, is named after an island believed to have existed in the Atlantic Ocean during the fifteenth century. According to the storied legends, this island gave refuge to seven Christian bishops fleeing Muslim conquerors.
The Ambani house has acquired a legend-like quality of its own. It boasts of six levels of underground parking, and has three helicopter pads. It has a spa, a terrace gym, a ballroom and a service staff of 600 to look after it. A 2014 estimate by the American business magazine Forbes puts the construction cost of the building between Rs 6,000 to Rs 12,000 crore. A 2014 story in the British tabloid Daily Mail story ranked the building as the world’s most expensive privately-owned building—Queen Elizabeth’s Buckingham Palace in London is technically the most expensive, but did not qualify since it is considered a governmental property.
But for over a decade, the land on which Antilia stands has been mired in controversy. Situated in one of the most affluent neighbourhoods of the city, the land, even conservatively, was valued anywhere between Rs 200 crore in 2002 and Rs 500 crore in 2007, but the Ambanis, through their corporate entity Antilia Commercial Private Limited, acquired it for a little over Rs 20 crore—at most, a little over a tenth of the cost, but likely much lower considering the appreciation in real estate prices since then.
At the heart of this matter is a tussle between two laws. Although the original owners of the land, the Currimbhoy Ebrahimbhoy Khoja Orphanage, sold the land in 2002 as they were entitled to do under the Bombay Public Trust Act of 1950, the land actually fell under the Wakf Act of 1995—a law that governs properties set aside by philanthropists to be used for any objective considered pious, religious or charitable under Muslim law. This made the sale of the land without the permission of the respective state wakf board—which oversees the maintenance and administration of wakf property and land—illegal. In April 2004, the Maharashtra wakf board issued a notice to Antilia Commercial asking why the property should not be restored to the board. Though the trust eventually arrived at a settlement with the board, since then, many have claimed that their process was unscrupulous. The contest over the claim to the land has been ongoing since 2005, but neither the state nor the court has ordered any effective action. After the Bombay High Court admitted the social activist and businessman Shadaab Patel’s request for a public interest litigation (PIL) in the matter on earlier this month, it may once again be in a position to order a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) enquiry into the dispute.
Set up in 1892, the Currimbhoy Ebrahimbhoy Khoja Orphanage trust was, according to its constitution, meant to “provide maintenance and education to the orphane/destitute boys of the Khoja community.” The constitution also stipulates that the managing committee of the trust shall appoint a religious instructor to “teach the Koran and the general and fundamental principles of the Mohammadan religion to pupils of the orphanage.” With a mandate to house young boys and educate them about Islam, the trust was eligible to be qualified a Wakf property.
In 2007, the state government responded to the criticism it was facing for its inaction and ordered a one-man commission comprising the retired high court judge ATAK Sheikh to look into the legalities of several contested wakf properties.
Sheikh’s report, which was finally released last year, raised red flags against the two former CEOs and one former chairman of the Maharashtra wakf board involved in green-lighting the sale of the land that Antilia stands on today. Sheikh was of the opinion that the board members were guilty of misconduct for personal gain. He noted that he asked SS Ali Qadri, one of former CEOs of the Maharashtra wakf board named in Sheikh’s report, whether the provisions of Section 32 (2) (j) of the Wakf Act—which requires that two-thirds of the wakf board vote in favour of a sale of a wakf property for it to be sold—were followed before the sale of the property. Qadri told Sheikh that “the provisions of section 32 (2) (j of the Wakf Act “were not attracted in this matter.” Sheikh inferred that this meant that the property had not been treated as a wakf. Qadri, he added, “appears to have a ulterior motive, may be for his wrongful gain.” Sheikh believed that Qadri’s conduct, “by making such statement, was exposed to be hostile to the wakf, specially when the board of the wakf is consistently taking stand that it is a wakf property.”
Throughout these years, BJP MLAs continually raised the issue in the state assembly, asking the government to step in. In 2011, the BJP’s Eknath Khadse, the leader of the opposition, said that the Antilia property was worth Rs 500 crore. Khadse demanded a CBI probe into the matter. Muslim MLAs including Nawab Malik from the Congress supported his request.
Then, in mid-2011, perhaps responding to the attention the issue was receiving, the centre, too, suggested that the Maharashtra government institute a CBI inquiry into matter. With the pressure piling on it, the state government took the easy way out. It referred the central government’s suggestion to the state’s law and judiciary department for its opinion. Meanwhile, government officials took a stand that no CBI probe was warranted as Sheikh was conducting an inquiry under the Commission of Inquiry Act of 1952. This line of reasoning is specious at best; issues such as these are regularly investigated by multiple agencies simultaneously. In 2011, for instance, the Adarsh Society scam was being looked into by both the CBI and a judicial commission set up under the Inquiry act.
Earlier this month, Shadaab Patel filed a PIL in the Bombay High Court seeking a CBI probe into the sale of the property. In his PIL, Patel claimed that Rs 21 crore was only ten percent of the prevailing market rates at that time of the sale. He also alleged that the payment of Rs 16 lakh to settle a dispute over a property measuring 4532.39 square metres in a prime locality in Mumbai was akin to “purchasing peanuts.” According to Patel, the deal involved large-scale corruption, with the pockets of a select few bureaucrats being lined up at the cost of the welfare of the orphans for whom the property was set aside.
Coming now, Patel’s PIL could make a crucial difference to the case. In his PIL, he has asked for an inquiry by either a Special Investigative Team of the CBI. The Bombay High Court accepted his PIL, and on 4 May, sought replies from Antilia Commercial, the wakf board, the state government and others.
- See more at: http://www.caravanmagazine.in/vantage/b ... N1nH1.dpuf
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Dua for Momeen
- Posts: 131
- Joined: Sat Apr 23, 2016 11:31 am
Re: Waqf Land Given For A Pittance To Mukesh Ambani.
Since it was built on orphans house and by cheat, they cant even live in this house, their astrologer have suggested them to stay away from this house and most of the time ambanis spent time in their old house. all his money has gone to gutter.