Viju B, TNN, Nov 18, 2010,
MUMBAI: Investigations reveal that at least 19 IPS officers who bagged flats in a posh Juhu residential society, land for which was given at a concessional rate, did not live in their flats in direct contravention of the rules under which the society was formed. RTI replies have revealed that till March 2010, the 19 officers continued to live in their government quarters instead of moving into Vasundhara Cooperative Housing Society, despite the society getting an Occupation Certificate in April 2007.
Around half of Mumbai's 42,000 policemen fend for themselves in cramped rented units, as there are no government quarters to give them. Today, a PIL is set to be heard in the Bombay high court over the allotment of the Juhu plot to IPS officers, as the plot was originally reserved for police quarters and not private flats.
Yogacharya Anandji, Khar-based activist who has filed the PIL, said he has also submitted to the court an affidavit that contains the RTI replies from the home department detailing the official residences of the IPS officers till March 2010. Anandji also sent legal notices to all 31 members of the society, asking them why they have not been staying at Vasundhara, which has 2,500-square-foot flats. No replies were received. An RTI reply from the police commissionerate revealed the names of the society's members. TOI first reported on the society on November 1, 2007.
One of the three pre-conditions for the Juhu allotment, as stated by then police commissioner M N Singh in a 2001 letter to the home department, was that if the officers were posted in Mumbai they should stay at Vasundhara and not in government accommodation. Sources at Vasundhara confirmed that some of the flats had been rented out.
Former police chief Julio Riberio said that it is shameful that senior IPS officers have grabbed land meant for police quarters. If the officers don't stay at Juhu, the allotments should be cancelled.
The built-up area of 70,000 square feet has a twin tower, nine-storey structure with all modern amenities, like a swimming pool and health club. It has central air-conditioning, underground parking and a 25,000-square-foot commercial space.
"A majority of the officers have given flats on rent, which also violates the conditions,'' said Anandji. "This is a Rs 500-crore scam, another Adarsh kind of scam, where public land has been grabbed at a cheap rate'' he said.
The land measuring 3871.35 square metres was sold for Rs 77 lakh in 2003 when the revenue department valued it at Rs 11 crore.
In 1974, the plot was reserved for police quarters. A proposal was mooted by commissioner Singh in 2001 to de-reserve it. In his letter to the additional chief secretary (home) he said that the plot given for police housing purposes should be allotted for a cooperative housing society for IPS officers since the police quarters could not be built for 26 years.
"It is surprising that the police housing corporation, which struggles to get land for police quarters, was never approached about constructing quarters there,'' said IPS officer-turned-lawyer Y P Singh. "Today, policemen travel from areas like Kalyan and Ambernath to do duty in the city,'' Singh said.
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