Pune Jain trust property sale to builder: NCP (SP) leader Jayant Patil extends support to protesters

Mumbai, Oct 18 (PTI) NCP (SP) leader Jayant Patil on Saturday said he is with members of the Jain community protesting against an alleged land grab in Pune's Model Colony.

The practice of creating discord in the name of religion while seizing religious lands will not be tolerated in Maharashtra, he asserted.

Ruling party MLAs have repeatedly encroached upon lands of Hindu temples and religious trusts across the state, and now a piece of land belonging to the Jain community, housing a hostel for students and an old temple, has also been illegally acquired through a Rs 230-crore transaction, he said on X.

Government approvals for the deal were given in a single day and a cooperative bank sanctioned Rs 70 crore loan to the developer on the same day, Patil further alleged.

The developers involved are business partners of a ruling party member, he claimed.

Thousands of Jains held a protest in Pune on Friday against the proposed sale of a prime property belonging to Seth Hirachand Nemchand Jain Digambar Boarding to a private builder.

The upmarket property in Model Colony, measuring around 12,000 square metres (3.5 acres), houses a several decade-old Jain boarding facility and the Shri Bhagwan Mahavir Digambar Jain Temple, both of which are part of the Seth Hirachand Nemchand Smarak Trust, a charitable trust established in 1958.

The NCP (SP) fully supports the Jain community and seeks a thorough investigation and suspension of the ongoing project, Patil said. PTI MR BNM