None of us has a criminal record. So these notices are completely unwarranted,' Parab said.

Virnoda village alone accounts for more than 500,000 sq m of fertile land, which is being acquired for the mega project.

The main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has also alleged a massive scam in the land acquisition for the National Games 2011 sports city.

'The sports minister had said that 23 lakh (2.3 million) sq m land was being acquired for the project. After initial protests, the government said only 13 lakh sq m was enough. If this was the case, why did they want 23 lakh in the first place?' former state BJP president and Mandrem legislator Laxmikant Parsekar told IANS.

He further said that the Congress-led coalition government was bent on acquiring prime agricultural land for the sports city when large chunks of fallow land was available for development in adjoining areas.

Controversy over land acquisition for the National Games 2011 has been a prominent feature in the local media for the last several months with the opposition and civic groups voicing their protest against the acquisition of agricultural land for the project.

Sports Minister Manohar Azgaonkar, however, said that the opposition to the project was not to be taken seriously.

'It is opposition for the sake of opposition. Those whose lands are taken will be compensated adequately,' he said, adding that the project would provide several jobs to the relatively backward region of Dhargal, his constituency.