A while back we had reported that filmmaker Subhash Ghai's institute Whistling Woods International that was set up on government allotted land had run into trouble. The institute that was set up in 2000 was developed on a 20 acre plot in Film City at a throwaway price, after Ghai struck an agreement with Maharashtra Film, Stage and Cultural Development Corporation (MFSCDC). Later a petition was filed in the High Court that alleged "gross abuse of power" by then chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh in the allotment.
After this petition in February 2012, the court had ordered Whistling Woods to return 14.5 acres of land to the government immediately and gave the institute time till July 31, 2014, to vacate the 5.5 acres on which it stands.
However on Wednesday, the Bombay High Court allowed Ghai to continue running his institute on the said plot till the time his review petition against surrendering the land is decided. A division bench of Chief Justice Mohit Shah and Justice M Sonak granted conditional permission to Whistling Woods to use the 5.5-acre plot. Further the HC has asked the institute to pay rent to MFSCDC at an annual rate of Rs 45 lakh since the time Ghai got the land in 2000. The effective figure stands at Rs 10.38 crore, of which Rs 1.38 crore will have to be paid by August 11. The balance can be paid in five monthly installments.
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