(Image source from: Deccanchronicle.com)

The government of Maharashtra on Sunday sealed a land that belonged to the Nizam of Hyderabad which is located at the hill station of Mahabaleshwar in Satara district. The large piece of land with a bungalow is worth Rs 250 crores and it was leased out to the Nizams. The land is spread across 15 acres and 15 guntas and it was sealed as per the orders of Satara Collector Ruchesh Jayvanshi. Tight security was imposed and the police force was deployed before the property was seized. Ruchesh Jayvanshi said that there have been frequent disputes between both the parties about the possession of the government property. A bunch of people who claimed to be the family of Nizams tried to enter into the premises and take the possession of the property forcibly. The government responded on a swift note and decided to seize the property.

Ruchesh Jayvanshi said that the bungalow and the surrounding land was seized. All the people living in the staff quarters too are asked to leave the premises. All the rooms of the bungalow along with the staff quarters were seized completely and no outsiders are allowed to enter into the premises. The plot was leased to a lawyer during the British rule. It was allocated to Nawab Mir Osman Ali Khan Bahadur after India got independence. He was the Nizam of Hyderabad in 1952. There were huge arrears of income tax, the property was recovered by the government for an amount of Rs 58,47,797. The property was submitted back to the government in 2003 as per the instructions of the Collector. The order was again withdrawn in 2005. The property was transferred to Dilip Thakkar in 2006 and it landed into controversy since then. There are frequent disputes between Dilip Thakkar and the Nizams. Both parties have been trying hard to take the possession after which the government seized the valuable property.