PAP flats allotted to ineligible people using minister Lodha’s letterhead: Raut

Sanjay Raut said the fake beneficiary racket affected genuine poor Marathi people displaced by projects whose names did not appear on the home-for-PAP lists.

Mumbai: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Tuesday wrote to chief minister Devendra Fadnavis alleging a fraud in the allotment of flats meant for project affected persons (PAP). Raut alleged that a group, under the name ‘Hindu Sakal Samaj’, has been diverting these flats to ineligible people, reportedly using skill development minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha’s letterhead.

Mumbai, India - November 4, 2019: Minister of Envirnoment Ramdas Kadam and Member of Parliament (R S) Sanjay Raut called on Governor of Maharashtra Bhagat Singh Koshyari at Raj Bhavan in Mumbai, India, on Monday, November 4, 2019. (HT Photos)

Raut said the fake beneficiary racket affected genuine poor Marathi people displaced by projects whose names did not appear on the home-for-PAP lists. According to him, government undertakings such as Slum Rehabilitation Authority, Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation and Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority were pressured to include these fake names in the list.

Raut named a certain Virendra Pratap alias Babloo Singh as the kingpin of the racket, who pressured officials using the name of Hindu Sakal Samaj and a recommendation on minister Lodha’s letterhead. “Fake documents and stamps were used to divert PAP homes to ineligible people, depriving eligible persons of their right,” stated Raut.

The letter also mentioned the Samarpan Society in Govandi East, where Virendra Pratap registered 4-5 flats using the name ‘Ajit Dhanaji Kadam’, who does not exist. Pratap included the names of Suresh Gupta, Anil Gupta and Sheela Gupta, who were ineligible for PAP flats, in the list and assured them of the allocation of flat numbers 102, 103 and 104.

When HT contacted minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha for his response, he said, “I don’t want to comment on it.”