Legislators who lied will not get MHADA flats: Ahir

The state on Wednesday said the allotment of houses to legislators who have lied in their affidavits will be cancelled but ruled out any action against them.

The state on Wednesday said the allotment of houses to legislators who have lied in their affidavits will be cancelled but ruled out any action against them.

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The Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) received 225 applications for 231 flats at Rajyog Cooperation Housing Society, floated by legislators at Versova.

Many legislators, who applied for the low-cost homes, allegedly flouted MHADA ruled because they already have houses in Mumbai. “We will scrutinise all 225 applications and affidavits. An inquiry will be held only after we receive a formal complaint against a legislator,” said Sachin Ahir, minister of state for housing.

The government is, however, unlikely to take serious action against offenders due to political pressure. Two days after it assured an inquiry, MHADA refused to do so based on news reports.

Jawahar Singh, chief vigilance officer of MHADA denied any such inquiry. “I have not received a single complaint on this issue. How can I start an inquiry?” Singh said. “If the authority tells me, I can inquire.”

MHADA officials, however, said the vigilance department has acted suo moto in the past. “The reluctance stems from the fact that big people are involved in this,” a senior officer said. MHADA's Mumbai Board CEO Satish Bhide refused to comment.

Referring to Congress legislator Bhai Jagtap's denial of allegations of filing a misleading affidavit, Ahir said, “Legislators can’t stand up now and claim their names have been fictitiously put on the list. We are getting the number of the cheque Jagtap issued to the society. He can't deny this now.”
Ahir hinted the same would apply to Minister, Harshavardhan Patil. “I am only the society’s chief promoter. I have no personal stake in this,” Patil said.