Mumbai: A complaint by the BJP to Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari regarding the alleged misappropriation of funds in the BMC’s Ashray Yojana housing scheme for conservancy workers has been forwarded to the Lokayukta of Maharashtra for appropriate action.
BJP leader in the BMC, Vinod Mishra said that the complaint of Rs 1,844-crore housing scam was made to the Chief Minister’s Office, the Mayor, and the BMC Commissioner, but no action was taken. A BJP delegation of civic leaders, led by Mihir Kotecha and Vinod Mishra, had then taken the complaint to the Governor on December 17. A Raj Bhavan secretariat official has now acknowledged the submitted letter and said, “In this regard, I am directed to inform you that the same has been forwarded to the Honourable Lokayukta, Government of Maharashtra for appropriate action.”
In the complaint, Mishra had made sensational allegations regarding the tendering process. “In the Ashray Yojana, the contractor has added the tender three times more than the rate fixed by the BMC. According to the MCGM estimate, if the area per square feet is calculated with the amount, then the total amount for the project should be Rs 1479.10 crore but after the revised tender by the contractor, this amount builds up to Rs 3323.54 crore, if we subtract the former amount with the latter, we get a difference of Rs 1844.44 crore. This is a complete scam,” alleged Mishra, speaking to The Free Press Journal.
The Lokayukta is an independent statutory functionary to investigate and make recommendations, to redress and rectify, any injustice done to a person through maladministration and to investigate and make recommendations in complaints of allegations involving abuse of position and corruption against public servants. “We hope that action will be taken against the culprits and the collusion of the contractors, including the ruling party and BMC administration, will be exposed,” said Mishra.
