Mumbai: Despite the State AntiCorruption Bureau (ACB) prima facie finding evidence that MHADA officials and developers connived and caused a loss to the state exchequer in the redevelopment of city’s cessed buildings, the housing body has neglected to recover the compensation from developers.
MHADA Approaches The Supreme Court Of India
Meanwhile, MHADA has approached the Supreme Court (SC) and sought to overturn the Bombay High court order of 2019, which directed registration of FIR against erring MHADA officials. Activist Kamlakar Shenoy has termed the housing body’s plea before the SC as “illegal and bad in law”, and accused it of suppressing crucial facts and not approaching the court with “clean hands”.
About The Case
The 2019 HC order directed the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Mumbai police to register an FIR based on allegations that MHADA officials failed to recover surplus areas from defaulting builders, resulting in a loss of Rs 40,000 crore since the 1990s. Shenoy, 65, was himself a victim of a property scam by a builder, which led him to uncover the larger scam. He has now filed written submissions before the SC, seeking the dismissal of MHADA’s special leave petition challenging the HC order.
In 1991, the Maharashtra government amended the Development Control Rules to promote the redevelopment of cessed buildings by private developers or landlords. The state offered builders an additional Floor Space Index (FSI) as an incentive, provided they rehabilitate existing tenants in new buildings and allocate a certain portion to MHADA. Legally speaking In 2019, HC directed the Economic Offences Wing to register an FIR It was alleged that MHADA officials failed to recover surplus areas from defaulting builders This led to a loss of 340,000 crore since the 1990s MHADA moved the Supreme Court, which issued a notice to Shenoy, who claims to have busted the scam Builders could sell the remaining flats in the open market. Shenoy discovered that many builders failed to hand over the designated flats to MHADA and instead sold them in the open market, depriving the latter of flats worth at least Rs 40,000 crore.
Through RTI, it was revealed that up to March 14, 2014, MHADA had issued redevelopment NOCs for 1,728 projects, with 379 builders defaulting on their obligations. Shenoy filed a public interest litigation in the HC in 2017. MHADA challenged the HCs 2019 ruling in the Supreme Court, which subsequently issued a notice to Shenoy.
The activist has now requested the dismissal of MHADAS petition, arguing that the HC’s order only mandates that the trial court proceed in accordance with the law after taking cognisance of the crime. He cautioned that overturning the HC judgment could set a dangerous precedent, encouraging negligence among public officials, thereby causing further losses to the exchequer.