Govt orders vigilance audit into Rs 2,000 crore housing scam in Mumbai

The Maharashtra government on Tuesday announced that a vigilance audit will be conducted across Mumbai within 30 days to investigate alleged irregularities in housing schemes under Development Control Regulations. The government stated that action would be taken against BMC officials if they are found to have misled the legislature or ignored violations by developers.

The government’s announcement came in response to allegations raised by Mulund MLA Mihir Kotecha, who claimed that developers had shown in situ Permanent Transit Camp (PTC) housing in project plans but instead built and sold commercial shops and luxury apartments. “In Mulund alone, flats worth over Rs 100 crore have been sold. Across Mumbai, the scam amounts to over Rs 2,000 crore,” claimed MLA Mihir Kotecha.

“SRA has admitted the irregularities, but BMC officers are misleading the House. Will they be suspended? Shops have been sold after being shown as ‘in-situ’ PTCs. Will these BMC officers who misled the Assembly be suspended?” asked MLA Mihir Kotecha.

Minister of State for Urban Development Madhuri Misal admitted in the Assembly that several builders had failed to hand over the mandatory Permanent Transit Camps (PTCs) and Project Affected Persons (PAP) housing stock to the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) or the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), despite availing additional FSI benefits.

“We have already issued stop-work notices in some cases. If records show that sales were made and officials overlooked them, strict action will follow,” said Misal.