Shiv Sena legislator Pratap Sarnaik has demanded an Economic Offences Wing (EOW) probe into the fake allotment of flats scam in the Basic Services to Urban Poor (BSUP) housing project in Kashimira.
Recently three persons were arrested when Kashimira Police busted a gang for facilitating fake ration cards and beneficiary lists to dupe people with fake promises of flats in the Central Government sponsored housing scheme which could run into crores.
Initial investigations have revealed the involvement of five people who would first find a needy flat buyer and lure them.
The BSUP scam
The accused reportedly asked anywhere between ₹7 lakh to ₹10 lakh. Once they received the money, they would give the buyers forged documents like ration cards having the address of the tenement and the slum survey list with the name of the victim as a potential beneficiary. It has also come to light that the accused were in possession of official lists of allotted flats and other documents related to actual beneficiaries, indicating an inside hand in the crime. Sensing the seriousness of the matter, Sarnaik who has been complaining about the irregularities has now sought an EOW probe into the entire racket.
Incriminating documents unearthed by police
“Since its launch, the project has been mired in controversy owing to allegations of fake allotments to ineligible beneficiaries on the virtue of fabricated documents. Now that a racket has been unearthed, the EOW should conduct a detailed probe to ascertain the involvement of masterminds including middlemen and local political leaders owing their allegiance to the erstwhile ruling party in the MBMC.”
The police have found several incriminating documents from the possession of the accused indicating a multi-crore racket in the central government sponsored housing scheme aimed at enhancing the living standards of the urban poor.
About BSUP
The MBMC had identified two slum clusters - Janta Nagar and Kranti Nagar - to construct 4,136 housing units with a carpet area of 279 sq.ft. per unit in 2009. However, due to inordinate delays the central government reduced the number of units from 4,136 to 2,160. Ironically, only 473 slum dwellers have been rehabilitated in the lingering project as thousands of other eligible beneficiaries continue to live in transit accommodations. The gang also took advantage of this delay and uncertainty looming over the completion of the project.
