Maharashtra govt. orders probe into land transfer to Premier Automobiles over six decades ago

You don’t have any Active Subscription.

Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials, Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription

The government order, issued on September 4, follows directions given at a meeting chaired by Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule on August 19, 2026. File | Photo Credit: PTI

An investigation has been ordered into the allotment of about 175 acres land by Maharashtra government to Premier Automobile Ltd (Now renamed Premier Ltd) more than six decades ago and the subsequent transfer of land parcels by the company to real estate developers and other entities.

Premier Automobiles was synonymous with the iconic Fiat 1100 D, the Premier Padmini car as well as Premier 118NE.

Following allegations of cattle-grazing land allotted for industrial purpose in 1960s turning into premium real estate in alleged land use violation, the Maharashtra Revenue Department has constituted a nine-member Special Investigation Team (SIT), headed by the Konkan Divisional Commissioner, to examine the alleged transfer of government-owned grazing land in Kalyan taluka, Thane district near Mumbai.

The government order, issued on September 4, follows directions given at a meeting chaired by Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule on August 19, 2026.

The Minister was hearing complaints concerning parcels of cattle-grazing land in Mangaon, Kole, Katai, Gharivali, Sandap and Usarghar villages. The complaints trace the original transactions to 1960s the period when Maharashtra was seeking to promote industrialisation and attract manufacturing activity.

Premier Automobiles, one of the pioneers in automobile assembling belonging to the Walchand Group, was then expanding from it’s original factory in Kurla in Suburban Mumbai to this location in Kalyan-Dombivali.

The SIT has been asked to scrutinise original government and grazing-land records and examine transfers made through gram panchayats to Premier Automobiles and then to other entities. 

These include Lodha Developers, Anant Developers and Jupiter Life Line Hospital. A separate term dealing with third-party sales names Out N Out Infotech and Sundarniwas Properties. 

These land parcels were previously owned by Premier Automobiles and later monetised to repay debt and to invest in it’s plant in Pune.

The inquiry will cover five broad issues: the original status of the land and manner of transfer; conversion of parcels from Occupant Class II to Occupant Class I; the validity of entries in the record of rights, including 7/12 extracts and mutation entries; subsequent sale transactions; and action to be recommended if responsibility is established.

The SIT has also been asked to examine whether the conversion of tenure and the calculation or adjustment of the unearned amount payable to the government complied with applicable orders and rules.

It must determine whether any government land was encroached upon or whether official powers were misused.

The SIT has been tasked to conduct an in-depth scrutiny of all documents and records of rights and will submit to the Government a detailed final report containing its clear opinion and recommendations in the first week of October 2026.

The SIT investigation is considered significant beyond the specific 175-acre Kalyan case as it could establish a precedent for reviewing old industrial land allotments and subsequent use for commercial development and monetisation. 

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.