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HC lashes out at CIDCO officials, ex-CM Shinde

HC lashes out at CIDCO officials, ex-CM Shinde

Author: Times News Network
Publication: The Times of India
Date: November 28, 2005

Setting aside CIDCO's allotment of over 37,000 sq m land on Palm Beach Road to six "dummy" housing societies, a division bench of Justices H L Gokhale and Roshan Dalvi also directed Vijay Associates (Wadhwa) Developers to pay the petitioners Rs 1 lakh as costs for the litigation for its hand in what the judges called "the most outlandish (attempt) by the builders to grab land under the shroud of housing societies which existed only on paper".

The court's order came on a public interest litigation filed by the Public Concern for Governance Trust, founded by former cabinet secretary B G Deshmukh, former police commissioner Julio Ribeiro and activist doctor R K Anand. The petitioners claimed that CIDCO had suffered a loss of over Rs 35 crore as it alloted prime land in the 'Marine Drive of Navi Mumbai' to six bogus housing societies - Sea Queen. Amey, Sagarika, Sea Link, Sea View and Vinayak. The plea was that the Cidco had bent rules to allow builder 1.5 FSI by changing residential land use to commercial.

On probing by the high court, it was found that the chief promoters of the societies were wholesale traders at the municipal market. The members were mathadi workers with an annual family income of not more than Rs 20,000. The judges found it hard to believe that "they have applied for allotment of flat of around 1,000 sq m worth Rs 25 lakh each in skyscrapers with amenities like golf course, jogging track, terrace gardens".

The judges questioned the role of the then CM Sushilkumat Shinde and senior CIDCO officers including Lal. "It was a grand plan to take advantage of their (members') poverty, lack of understanding and ignorance and it could not be executed unless the original chief promoters, the builders and the officers of CIDCO at the higher level such as the managing directors were party to it. Would the MDs and the officers of CIDCO have entertained these applicants who are principally slum dwellers for this plot known as the 'Marine Drive of Mumbai', if they were to approach them without being led by these traders and supported by a builder and without the blessings of the chief minister? It is either a case of involvement in the design or gross dereliction of duty."

The genesis of the proposal goes back to February 2004, when identical computer-generated applications from live bogus societies were addressed to former chief minister Sushilkumar Shinde seeking parts of plot no 24 measuring 37,000 square metres on Palm Beach Marg. On February 21, CM Shinde initialled all the applications, with the words, "please put up" and they were tagged as "VVIP". Three days later, V M Lal, then managing director, CIDCO, also endorsed it, saying," Pl process early". In March 2004, CIDCO allotted them the land at Rs 10,500 per square metre, whereas the market value was Rs 21,000 per sq m. In May 2004, again on Shinde's recommendations, CIDCO agreed to allot another plot to the sixth society.

In January 2005, the six societies were amalgamated into one society, Ameya Cooperative Housing Society, and signed over all developing rights to Wadhwa builders. Many of the members of the society resigned, several undertook to resign and transfer their membership, leaving the field open for the builders to induct their own members. The new members had to buy the flats at a price determined by the builder. "All the members who were supposedly scrutinised by CIDCO as genuine members of the society would get nothing in the new construction. They are mere names which are to be deleted and substituted," remarked the judges. "The entire sc into a conspiracy for smuggling in members by the builders."

The court has directed CIDCO to take over the land and evaluate the value of the project. The Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation has been asked to examine whether the construction of ground plus seven floors need to be demolished or can be regillarised. In case the project is to be regularised, CIDCO will allot it to either genuine cooperative housing societies or builders after inviting tenders, Wadhva builders have been barred from participating in the bid. The state government and CIDCO has been asked to take action against officers involved in the irregularities in allotment. CIDCO has been directed to look into the allotment in 23 other suspect cases. The court, while refusing to grant a stay on its orders, recorded a statement by CIDCO that it will not dispossess the builders from the plot for eight weeks. Ravi Wadhva of Wadhva developers, said, "We have not committed any fraud. There is no wrong done and all the members were genuine and we will be approaching the supreme court."

After the verdict, Lal said that the evaluation of the land was accepted by the stamp duty registrar and that there had been previous unsuccessful attempts to sell these plots.


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