UNMESH GUJARATHI/ DIVAKAR SHEJWAL
SPROUTS BRAND STORY
A multi-crore Slum Redevelopment scam has come to light when the complaints that lay for nearly a decade with the MIDC police station, in the western suburbs of India’s financial capital, Mumbai continued gathering dust and the original slum residents petitioned the High Court in wake of police inaction. The scam running into nearly INR 2000 crores involves the registration of bogus documents with fictitious names of tenants. The complaint pertains to the up-market city developers, Hub Town Private Ltd, having obtained FSI far in excess of their entitlement by virtue of a huge SRA scam in Andheri (East), a Western suburb of Mumbai.
The leading city developers-Hub Town Private Limited, has obtained excess FSI by making a huge SRA scam at western suburb . In their redevelopment project, they have used and included names of many slum dwellers from another and different developer's SRA project with forged and bogus documents in the MIDC area of Andheri East in North West Mumbai. However, these developers are yet to be arrested despite an FIR recorded by the MIDC police after court directions.
The developers Vimal Shaha and Hemant Shaha of Akruti Nirman pvt Ltd (earlier name) allegedly included hundreds of bogus names, based on forged documents, in the list of the beneficiaries of the SRA project.
Based on the PIL(No 56/2010) filed by Digambar Ramchandra Rane (75) the Bombay High Court had directed the police to take action against the developers within three months way back in 2012. However no action was taken in the last one decade. Rane, is a plumber by profession and was residing on Road No 16, Mulgaon of MIDC.
The developers have used and included names of Digambar Rane and his son Sanket Rane in the SRA plan in 1993-1994, when their homes were out of Hub town pvt Ltd project and were unaffected till 2018.
In August 1993 and October 1994, Vimal Shaha and Hemant Shaha, with the help of advocate S B Mustafi and notary Ramesh S Fatarfeka, prepared bogus notarised documents and transferred the hut (falling in pocket 6, Schedule II-No 12 and 101 of the SRA project), belonging to Digambar Rane, in the name of Jijabai Hari Kadam. Then it was transferred to Shankar Daji Sane. Similarly the hut in the name of Sanket Rane was transferred to one Dambar Bahadur Behra.
The Sprout Special Investigation Team in consultation with legal activists learnt that failure to comply with the court orders can invoke the contempt clause, especially, if it gets proved that the whereabouts of the accused persons are known to everyone and any claims to their being untraceable gets disproved.
380 bogus allotmentsThe work of rehabilitation and development of huts located on MIDC’s land (Pockets 1 to 12) was entrusted to Akruti Nirman Private Limited by the state government. However the developer included the names of nearly 380 bogus beneficiaries in the SRA list. This was stated in a report submitted to the Bombay High Court, by MIDC’s Deputy Engineer Avinash Mali.
An Non-bailable offence
An offence was registered against the developers by the MIDC engineers in February 2020 at MIDC police station. But the higher ups were reluctant to take action against the erring developers. Subsequently based on the directions of the 22 nd Metropolitan Magistrate, Andheri, a Non-bailable offence, was registered at MIDC Police station under sections 419, 420, 465, 467, 468, 201, 120(B), 34 of Indian Penal Code on September 23, 2021 against Vyomesh alias Vimal Shaha and Hemant Shaha. But they are yet to be taken into custody. Senior Advocate D R Mishra has been fighting to ensure justice to the cheated dwellers.
Why are the police wasting time?
I am not the only resident to be cheated, but the shaha developers have used and included the names of many (at least 26) from our locality in the SRA list. In this case the authentic documental proofs submitted to the court and police have been obtained under RTI. Now they should immediately arrest the developers instead of wasting time in investigation, Rane said.
- Digambar Rane
Alternate house in Kanakia complexRane, whose huts were demolished in 2018 ( not in 1993-94) due to the Metro railway line, has now been given alternate accommodation by MMRDA in Kanankia’s housing complex at Chakala in Andheri East. He had been residing in Andheri MIDC area since 1979 and his name figured in 1980-Assembly electoral roll (Page 3, Sl No 275) and his son’s name appeared on page 4 at Sl No 315.
The developers have been booked under section 467 IPC for cheating.Hence that fraud is liable for 7 years or more rigorous imprisonment after conviction. Besides, since the offence is non-bailable the accused should be arrested immediately.
- Advocate Kiran Channe, state General Secretary, RPI(Secular).
The fraud by Hub Town Construction Company is not restricted only to inclusion of the names of the bogus beneficiaries. In fact the number of beneficiaries is inflated to claim the increased FSI. This FSI fraud is in the region of over Rs 2000 crore.
- Bhalchandra Nemane, President, Jan Awas Samajik Sanstha
The number of fake beneficiaries included by the Vimal Shaha-Akruti Nirman, in the list of SRA beneficiaries is not in a few hundreds, but it runs in thousands. If the state government conducts the high level inquiry honestly, the entire fraud would come to the fore.
- Gautam Sable, General Secretary, Congress, Mumbai North Central District.
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