Now, Mayawati goes after Sahara Group

After Amitabh Bachchan and Anil Ambani, it is now the turn of another 'close friend' of the erstwhile Samajwadi Party government in Uttar Pradesh to face the heat from UP Chief Minister Mayawati's government.

Sahara India Group, led by Subroto Roy, has been served with a notice over 'illegal construction' at its Sahara Sahar township in Gomti Nagar area of Lucknow.

The Lucknow Development Authority served the notice on Sahara India Housing Limited on June 2 with charges that it had no clearance from the authority to go ahead with the construction of a multi-storied building within Sahara Sahar.

LDA vice chairman Harbhajan Singh said in Lucknow on Friday that the map of the controversial building was not approved. Beside, the government is also examining the process of land allotment to the Sahara Group.

"We have served them with a notice and would say anything only after receiving their reply," Singh said.

LDA had given a week's time to Sahara to reply to the notice.

No Sahara India official was available for comment, but an official statement is expected from the group soon.

The building is being constructed in the Sahara Sahar spread over an area of nearly 270 acres. Of this, 100 acres of land is on a lease of Rs 100,000 per annum.

Earlier this week, Sahara had voluntarily handed over the Satkar Bhawan guest house inside the Ambedkar Smarak to LDA. Satkar Bhawan had been handed over to Sahar Group by the previous government on a long-term lease.

The Sahara Sahar land, worth about Rs 1,000 crore (Rs 10 billion), had been in mired in controversy ever since it was given to them in 1994. In 1999, the BJP's Kalyan Singh government had also issued notices to get the land vacated but nothing came of it.

The previous Mulayam Singh Yadav government in UP, however, withdrew the Kalyan Singh government's order through a Cabinet proposal.

Meanwhile, a Public Interest Litigation was filed in the Supreme Court by one Vishwanath Chaturvedi over illegal possession of 'green belt land' of the LDA, but it was rejected.

Recently, Chaturvedi filed a rejoinder in the Supreme Court in the same case.

After Reliance ADAG chairman Anil Ambani and Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan, Sahara India boss Subroto Roy is the third close friend of Mulayam Singh Yadav to come under scanner of the Mayawati government.