Court orders inquiry into Urban Development principal secy’s role

In a detailed five-page order,Special ACB judge V A Daulatabadkar stated,“In view of the observations and after going through the documents,prima facie it appears that sufficient material is available on record that leads to reasonable suspicion about commission of cognisable offences by respondent numbers 1 (Hiranandani) and 2 (Benjamin) as well as public servants concerned under the provisions of the Indian Penal Code and Prevention of Corruption Act.”

The Bombay High Court had earlier heard a public interest litigation filed by Patkar on the alleged housing scam in 2010. It observed in February this year that the case should be dealt by the ACB.

In his private complaint,Daundkar had alleged that Hiranandani flouted an agreement signed between the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority,the state and the developer. In 1977,the state had announced the Powai Housing Development Scheme — to be implemented over 140 hectares in the villages of Powai,Kopri and Tirandaz — for the economically weaker section.

In 1986,the state had signed an agreement with Hiranandani and handed over 230 acres at the rate of Re 1 per hectare for land acquired from landholders. In return,the developer was to construct affordable flats. “However,the developer flouted the tripartite agreement with the state and MMRDA,which required him to construct affordable houses and hand over a part to the state over 230 acres in Powai,” Daundkar alleged.

An inquiry held in 2009 revealed that of the 5.74 lakh sq m of the built-up area sanctioned by the state,the developer had utilised only 76,120 sq m. The rest was converted into luxury apartments measuring 2,000 to 5,000 sq ft and sold at the rate of Rs 8,000 to Rs 15,000 per sq ft.

Daundkar’s complaint filed before the special court through his lawyer Y P Singh alleged that the contract was for 10 years,and during this period,Hiranandani did not construct and hand over 15 per cent of the residential units to the government as per the agreement.

The court on Monday ordered an investigation against Benjamin following Daundkar’s allegation that the officials from MMRDA and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation had not initiated any action against Hiranandani.

Daundkar alleged that Benjamin had recommended that the developer pay a fine of only Rs 3 crore for the violation. Benjamin,however,said the decisions were taken before he took charge. “We had worked out the penalty amount correctly,” he said.