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Journalism of Courage
MUMBAI, June 13: The Economic Offence Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai police has registered a case against a city builder recently for cheating weaker sections of society and the government by selling flats earmarked for them in the open market for crores of rupees.
The case was registered under sections 420 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code against developer Pramod Rajkumar Ralhan following a complaint by N S Sawant, a town planner in the office of the Additional Collector and Competent Authority, Urban Land Ceiling Department (ULCD).
Ralhan was undertaking three housing schemes for weaker sections of society and those entitled to flat under the government quota on surplus vacant land which were exempt from under sections 20 and 21 of Urban Land Act 1976. Exemption was granted with the condition that the land holder/developer/sub-developer would surrender the completed, self-contained flats to the government which would then allot the flats to its nominees.
The developer had marked the flats for governmentallotment in the three schemes – two in Malad (E) and one in Dahisar – in the plan which was approved by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation. Under the exemption order, Ralhan had to surrender all the 56 flats constructed under the scheme to the ULCD. According to the complaint, Ralhan instead sold the flats in the open market. After the complaint, the BMC did not issue occupancy certificates to the three housing societies.
In his anticipatory bail application to the City Civil and Sessions Court, Ralhan has termed the allegations against him as false and baseless. He informed that 18 flats are already in possession of the court receiver. The order in the anticipatory bail application will be passed later this month.
