CM’s housing quota: HC gives more time to state to submit files

Court has also asked state govt to issue a govt resolution within three weeks for extension of term of enquiry committee.

The Bombay High Court on Monday granted more time to the state’s Urban Development Department (UDD) and Housing Department for submission of files to the inquiry committee, which is supposed to look into the case of illegal allotment of flats under the Chief Minister’s discretionary housing quota.

The committee had earlier written to the court stating that non-production of files by both these departments was causing many problems in enquiry work.

“We grant UDD five weeks and the Housing Department eight weeks for submitting files. Non-cooperation in this regard will be viewed seriously,” said Justices A S Oka and A K Menon.

[related-post]

Story continues below this ad

The court has also asked the state government to issue a government resolution within three weeks for extension of the term of the enquiry committee. The committee has been asked to submit its report by July-end as opposed to the earlier deadline of April-end.

The court was acting on activist Ketan Tirodkar’s PIL, which argued that beneficiaries of flats under CM’s quota were either related to MLAs or MPs or were influential politicians. He has alleged that the government had not prosecuted those who were allotted two or more flats, either by filing FIR or cancelling their allotments.

The HC had earlier directed these departments to submit all files pertaining to allotment of flats from the year 1982. “The Housing Department has tendered approximately 500 files out of 13000 files while the UDD has submitted only 314 files out of 12,000 files in the last three months. Because of non-compliance of judicial directions, the enquiry committee is facing many problems,” had stated the letter, dated February 20, 2015.

mumbai.newsline@expressindia.com

Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram