FIRs against 27 for double houses under CM quota: HC told

The Maharashtra Government today informed the Bombay High Court that it had filed FIRs against 27 persons, who had secured double allotment of houses from the Chief Minister's discretionary housing quota by giving false declaration of facts.
This was disclosed in two affidavits filed by the Urban Development Department and Housing Department before a bench headed by Justice Abhay Oka, which is hearing a PIL filed by former journalist Ketan Tirodkar challenging double or multiple allotment of flats.
An affidavit filed by the Housing department said in 11 cases, beneficiaries had secured double allotment of flats in 2 per cent as well as 5 per cent discretionary quota of the state government.

Out of these 11 cases, 7 beneficiaries had initially secured a flat under 2 per cent quota and later procured another flat under 5 per cent quota. Hence, the Urban Development department had in a letter on August 30, 2014, sought action in these cases, Prakash Pathak, Joint Secretary, Housing, said in the affidavit.
In the remaining four cases, the beneficiaries had initially taken flats under five per cent quota and later under two per cent quota.
Action was being initiated against these beneficiaries for giving false declarations stating they or their family members had no flat in the state, in order to get second allotment of houses.

In another affidavit, S K Salimath, Deputy Secretary, Urban Development Department, filed an Action Taken Report stating that FIRs had been filed against 16 persons for procuring second house from CM's discretionary quota.
The department said that the allotment of second tenement to any double allottee would be cancelled and if such beneficiary has sold out one of the two houses allotted to him, then the market price of such a house would be recovered from him. In case, such allottee has sold both the houses, the market price of the second house would be recovered from him.
The state had also decided that if any double allottee holds both the houses, then the allotment order of the second house would be cancelled.