The Delhi High Court on Tuesday asked the CBI to complete its investigation into the records of 252 co-operative housing societies by January 31. The probe into the co-operative group housing scam has been going on for over a year.
The court has also set up a committee, headed by a joint director of the CBI, to cancel land allotments to and registration of illegally revived societies.
In their order, Justice Swatantra Kumar and Justice G Sistani said the five- member committee would have CBI’s nodal officer Ashok Malhotra, the land commissioner and the director (building) of the DDA and the Registrar of Co-operative Societies (RCS) as members.
The committee will inform the court about genuine members of societies who are eligible for flats. The first meeting of the committee will be held on Friday and it will submit its report by January 16. The court said the DDA and RCS should also take simultaneous action to cancel registration and land allotted to illegally revived societies.
The first raids against builders, middlemen and former officials of the RCS involved in the scam were conducted on August 1, 2005. A cartel had been systematically cornering subsidised government land meant for affordable housing for the middle class. These were being sold in the market at exorbitant rates ranging from Rs 32 lakh to Rs 70 lakh. The builders were raking in profits to the tune of thousands of crores of rupees. There are a total of about 100 such fraudulent builder-owned societies and another 152 are awaiting land allotment.
{{/usCountry}}The first raids against builders, middlemen and former officials of the RCS involved in the scam were conducted on August 1, 2005. A cartel had been systematically cornering subsidised government land meant for affordable housing for the middle class. These were being sold in the market at exorbitant rates ranging from Rs 32 lakh to Rs 70 lakh. The builders were raking in profits to the tune of thousands of crores of rupees. There are a total of about 100 such fraudulent builder-owned societies and another 152 are awaiting land allotment.
{{/usCountry}}Former Registrar of co-operative societies Narayan Diwakar is in custody and faces charges in over 66 cases. Two other former registrars RK Srivastava and Gopal Dikshit have also been booked by the premier investigative agency.
The court raised specific questions pertaining to the Bhagwati, Navaltech Employees and Chinar group housing societies. The court was informed that accounts and immovable properties of middleman Srichand have been attached. The judges said the matter could not be made to linger on and that the CBI should act against the builders and middlemen by attaching their properties and bank accounts.
CBI counsel Harish Gulati told the court that the investigative agency had filed chargesheet against 50 of the 152 societies awaiting land allotment.
Email Aruna P Sharma: arunasharma@hindustantimes.com