A sustained citizens’ campaign backed by activists and political leaders has helped save a two-acre prime government plot in Mangalwar Peth from being handed over to a private builder. The state government has now announced that a cancer hospital for western Maharashtra will be set up on the land, located opposite Sassoon General Hospital. The state government has now announced that a cancer hospital for western Maharashtra will be set up on the land, located opposite Sassoon General Hospital. (HT FILE PHOTO)

The plot, owned by the state government, was originally handed over to the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) in 1995–96 by the then minister Nitin Gadkari, as MSRDC lacked an office in Pune. However, the land remained unused for decades.

In January 2024, a Delhi-based builder put up a board on the plot, revealing that MSRDC has floated a tender and transferred the land without public knowledge. The sudden development triggered opposition with civic activists and leaders from across the political spectrum — including BJP’s Ujwal Keskar, Suhas Kulkarni, and Shiv Sena’s Prashant Badhe — also joining the public protest, demanding transparency and cancellation of the deal.

“We were shocked to discover that a land valued at over ₹300 crore had been allotted for just ₹70 crore,” said Keskar. “MSRDC claimed they needed funds, but why was the land sold below market rate? We didn’t get any satisfactory answers.”

The opposition mounted at multiple levels, including public campaigns and media coverage. “Some senior bureaucrats and IPS officers had stakes in this deal,” Keskar alleged, “and that’s how a Delhi-based builder got involved.” Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde, who was said to be overseeing MSRDC at the time, was reportedly instrumental in pushing the deal — a move that even BJP leaders within the alliance opposed.

Sassoon General Hospital had long requested this land for a dedicated cancer hospital. BJP MLA Yogesh Tilekar raised the issue in the Assembly, and the government had then verbally assured that the land would be used for the hospital, though no formal decision had followed.

On Friday, Urban development minister of state Madhuri Misal held a review meeting at Sassoon hospital and officially announced that the MSRDC land deal had been scrapped.

“We have now decided to set up a cancer hospital on this land. Sassoon General Hospital has been instructed to submit a proposal at the earliest,” she said.

A BJP insider noted, “Though Shinde is part of the ruling alliance, the BJP was not in favour of the land deal. That’s why our own minister made the announcement.”

The Republican Party of India had also opposed the builder deal and demanded that the plot be used for a Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar memorial. However, the state has decided to prioritise the cancer hospital, citing urgent public need.

Activists welcomed the decision. “This is a victory for citizens,” said Keskar, Kulkarni, and Badhe in a joint statement. “Western Maharashtra lacked a dedicated cancer hospital. People from Pune and neighbouring districts will now benefit. At the same time, we urge the government to order an inquiry into how this builder deal was allowed to proceed.”