By IANS
Mumbai : The Maharashtra Wakf Board Thursday issued a notice to Reliance Industries chief Mukesh Ambani, asking him why the plot on which he is building a 27-storied skyscraper should not be restored to the board.
Ambani has been drawn into a legal tangle after the Maharashtra government on Tuesday termed as "illegal" the transaction involving the land in south Mumbai on which he is constructing the building.
Ambani's firm Antilia Commercial Pvt Ltd had acquired 4,532 sq metres of land from an orphanage trust in a Rs.210 million deal.
Terming the land deal illegal, the Maharashtra Revenue and Forest Department, Tuesday issued a notice to the state Wakf board, asking it to take back the possession.
"We have issued a notice to Antilia and four other parties, against whom the state government has asked us to initiate proceedings under Section 52 of the Wakf Act asking them to restore Wakf property to the board," Maharashtra Wakf Board chief executive officer A.R. Sheikh told reporters here Thursday.
Sheikh said that Antilia and the others have been given a week's time to explain their stance.
"The plot on Altamount Road in Malabar Hills has changed hands in convention of Section 51 of the Wakf Act."
The Maharashtra Wakf Board is the custodian of Muslim religious properties.
The government has also questioned the role of state Wakf Board chief M.A. Aziz and issued him a show-cause notice, asking him to clarify his position on the land deal within 15 days.
Work on the glass and steel "mansion-in-the-air," which will house four floors of family quarters, guest apartments, a mini theatre, a helipad and six floors of parking space, is already at an advanced stage.