MHADA LAND SCAM: State seeks probe against 5 babus in ‘land grab’ case

Mumbai: Trouble is brewing for five IAS officials as the state home department has forwarded a file to chief secretary Jayant Kumar Banthia seeking sanction for an open inquiry against them in an alleged Mhada land grab case.

The names of Shyamsunder Shinde, Subhash Sonavane (retired), Bipinkumar Shrimali, H K Jawale and Satish Bhide (he has taken voluntary retirement) had cropped up in Mhada’s initial inquiry. The state action against the bureaucrats comes after a Bombay high court order to dispose of by mid-April the backlog of graft cases in which government sanction has been sought for prosecution.

“After Banthia clears the file, it will be sent to home minister R R Patil for approval, and then to chief minister Prithviraj Chavan. After all sanctions are got, the anti-corruption bureau (ACB) will begin its probe,” said asenior Mantralaya official.

The five IAS officers and more than six Mhada officials have been accused of “wrongdoing” in a case pertaining to a plot in the suburbs. “Not only IAS officers, but the role of junior state officials, too, will come under scanner,” the official added.

While Shrimali was not available for comment, Sonavane refused to talk to the media. Shinde reiterated that there was no case of land grab. “It would not be appropriate to discuss the issue with the media as the matter is sub-judice,” he said. Bhide said the decision was taken by the Mhada authorities and refused further comment. It has been learnt that the housing board also claims that there was no such irregularity.

TOI first reported the “land scam” in 2012, when then Mhada chief had requested the state to initiate action against the five IAS officers who had handled the issue earlier. The housing board asked the state to order an inquiry after the city civil court said there was “fraud” as the same plot had been divided, causing Mhada to lose land.

Following the court’s remarks, Mhada CEO Satish Govai conducted an internal inquiry, which found that the IAS officers and their juniors had committed grave violations. Later, the ACB started a discreet inquiry.

Director general of police (ACB) Raj Khilnani said they have not received any intimation about the file.
Courtesy:
Sanjeev Shivadekar TNN
http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOINEW&BaseHref=TOIM/2013/04/10&PageLabel=8&EntityId=Ar00801&ViewMode=HTML

Rs. 30,000 Crore Scam by Builder Hiranandani in Powai

HC lifts stay on ACB probe into Hiranandani project

Allowing the probe against Additional Chief Secretary, Health T C Benjamin and developer Niranjan Hiranandani to proceed, Bombay High Court on Tuesday vacated an interim stay granted on an order directing the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) to investigate allegations against the two in an alleged real estate scam.

Benjamin, former principal secretary in the Urban Development Department (UDD), is accused of not taking action against Hiranandani who allegedly built luxury flats in Powai in breach of a tripartite agreement between the builder, the state government and MMRDA.

A special court had ordered an investigation against Benjamin following a complaint by activist Santosh Daundkar who alleged that Benjamin had recommended that Hiranandani should be directed to pay a fine of only Rs 3 crore.

However, sources familiar with the case said that the UDD had earlier fixed the penalty on Hiranandani at Rs 89 crore. Subsequently, an arbitrator was appointed who reduced the penalty to Rs 3 crore. The state government has contested the reduced award of penalty on Hiranandani in the high court.

Reacting to the court’s decision, Benjamin said: “The state government is going to file an affidavit justifying its decision to impose the fine of Rs 89 crore on Hiranandani. The decision taken by me was in all transparency.”

In his appeal, Benjamin stated that there were no allegations of financial misappropriation against him. The court has adjourned the case for further hearing till October 5.

The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) registered an FIR against Benjamin and Hiranandani on July 5. On July 10, the bureaucrat moved the high court, which stayed the order of the special court and restrained the ACB from carrying out further investigation into Daundkar’s private complaint.

On Tuesday, Benjamin’s petition seeking the quashing of the private complaint was heard by a bench of Justices A S Oka and Sadhana Jadhav. His lawyer Satish Borulkar urged the court to extend the stay granted on the subordinate court’s order.

The judges, however, observed, “By granting ad interim relief, the writ court cannot interfere with the process of investigation. Hence, we decline to continue the ad interim relief granted earlier.”

Daundkar’s complaint, filed through lawyer Y P Singh, stated that in 1977, the state had announced the Powai Housing Development Scheme for economically weaker sections (EWS) that was to be implemented over 140 hectares in the villages of Powai, Kopri and Tirandaz. In 1986, the state signed an agreement with Hiranandani, and handed over 230 acres.

“However, the developer had flouted the tripartite agreement with the state and MMRDA which allowed him to develop 230 acres in Powai and construct affordable houses and hand over part to the state,” Daundkar alleged.

Daundkar pointed out that an ACB inquiry in 2009 revealed that only 76,120 sq m of the 5.74 lakh sq m of the built-up area sanctioned by the government was used by Hiranandani for low-cost housing, while the rest was converted into luxury apartments of 2,000 to 5,000 sq ft.

COURTESY:
Express news service : Fri Sep 28 2012, 01:09 hrs
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/hc-lifts-stay-on-acb-probe-into-hiranandani-project/1008978/0