3 min readMumbaiApr 17, 2023 03:25 PM IST
First published on: Apr 17, 2023 at 05:45 AM IST
Mumbai Police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) has started a preliminary enquiry (PE) into the complaint filed by BJP leader Kirit Somaiya alleging that Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) MLA Ravindra Waikar has been involved in a Rs 500-crore scam. The EOW has called senior officials from the garden and building department of BMC to join investigation.
As per BJP’s allegation, Waikar fraudulently obtained approval for construction of a 5-star hotel on a plot reserved for a garden by using his political clout and caused a huge loss to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation. Waikar previously termed Somaiya’s claims as baseless and had claimed that he has all the documents of the said plot and no rule or law was violated.
Sources in the EOW confirmed the developments and said that soon top officials from the BMC’s garden and building department would be questioned. They have also been asked to come with documents. In EOW, a preliminary enquiry (PE) is conducted on every complaint it receives and if substantial facts surface suggesting that a cognizable offence is committed, then an FIR is registered for further investigation and prosecution. And if no sufficient material is found in the enquiry, the PE is closed then and there itself.
Last month, Somaiya had submitted a complaint to Azad Maidan police station about the alleged scam. The complaint was transferred to the EOW for further probe. The former BJP MP in his complaint to the police has claimed on July 26, 2021, the BMC approved a 5-star hotel on plot number 1-B and 1-C, Village Vyarvali, Jogeshwari JVLR, which is personally owned by Ravindra Waikar and some others. Somaiya claimed the said plot is reserved for garden/park and is presently being used for construction by Ravindra Waikar and his other partners. On a plot of 28,000 sq feet (approximately), about 2 lakh sq feet (more than 5 Floor Space Index) of 5-star hotel for luxury weddings has been illegally approved by BMC through its building proposal department. An illegal benefit of Rs 500 crores is made from this and an annual turnover of Rs 500 crores is expected after its construction, Somaiya had claimed.
The extra area is approved under a new scheme of DCPR 17 (1) where if an owner has a recreational ground, he can hand over 70% of the same to BMC and use the floor space index/transferable development rights (FSI/TDR) on the remaining 30% plot.
BJP leader Kirit Somaiya 
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