Amid allegations of corruption in the Delhi Development Authoritys housing scheme 2008,the agency on Monday ruled out any irregularity on its part and said the 5,238 allottees would not be given possession of flats without a thorough scrutiny first. As per procedure,we do a basic scrutiny of the applications; a detailed scrutiny is done only after the draw (of lots) is complete, DDAs public relations director Neemo Dhar said at a media conference held today. In 2006,for instance,we cancelled 350 allotments and forfeited registration amount of Rs. 1.5 lakh of those who had given false information. She said the detailed scrutiny will go on till this monthend before the demand letters are sent out. The allegations came after it emerged that as per DDAs list of allottees at least five people from Vallabhnagar village in Rajasthans Udaipur district had registered by giving the same mobile phone number. When we checked applications of those five allottees,we realised that though their mobile number was same,their photo,addresses,and pan card numbers were different, DDA Housing Commissioner Asma Manzar said. We do not use mobile phone numbers as a verification or selection criteria. It is used only as contact information. It is possible that these are fake applications with false information; in that case they will not get possession. Manzar said the DDA had made a waiting list of 200 candidates on the day of the draw and these candidates will get allotment if any allottee is found to have given wrong information. As per DDAs policy,those found guilty will have to forfeit their registration amount; an FIR will also be filed against them. About the odds of five people under ST quota from the same village,getting an allotment,Manzar said allotments under the reserved category SC,ST,war widows or ex-servicemen would be subjected to an established scrutiny procedure. We will write to the issuing authority of their certificates to establish whether their certificates are genuine, Manzar said. They will then be subjected to the same procedure as everyone else ensuring their photos,addresses and pan card numbers are genuine. The DDA also produced an internal order issued by Manzar on December 19 saying all SC/ST candidates had to be subjected to proper verification before getting possession. Another aspect that had raised eyebrows was the fact that there were three allotments against one Pankaj Gupta. Manzar said DDA produced all three applications,which revealed that while the name was the same,other details (PAN,address,and photographs) were different. About investigations being conducted by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Delhi Police,Neemo Dhar said the DDA has passed on all information. We are cooperating with EOW and are willing to undergo an inquiry by any agency, she said. Dhar also discounted reports about some allottees already selling their houses to property dealers. No one has yet been given legal documents to certify that the house belongs to them,so they cannot sell a flat, she said. Since it is a freehold property,they are free to resell once they are given possession. In a bid to settle issues with the SC/ST-category flats,Manzar said the DDA has forwarded a proposal to the UD ministry to introduce a measure in which those in the reserved category can resell their flats only to people in similar category. In the first round of scrutiny before the draw took place,the DDA forfeited registration amounts of 1,813 candidates,it was informed. Of these,1,633 candidates had submitted more than one application from the same family; 130 had submitted more than one application; and 80 had provided an invalid PAN. Dhar also called Udit Rajs allegation that DDA had initially announced it would allot 6,500 flats but eventually allotted 5,238 since the remaining flats were reserved for senior officials imaginary and baseless. Overheard at Raj NiwasAllegations about a possible rigging in the draw of lots for DDAs housing scheme has come as a surprise to officials at the Raj Niwas,where,sources said,most officers had applied for flats. But not one of us received allotment. We have also come to know that thousands of DDA employees themselves applied for the scheme but only two one of whom is a peon received an allotment, a Raj Niwas official said. If it was rigged,we should have been told: we could at least have benefited from it!
