Mumbai, March 17 The Maharashtra government on Tuesday announced that a vigilance audit will be conducted across Mumbai within 30 days to investigate irregularities in housing schemes under Development Control Regulations (DCR) 33(11) and 33(20)(b).
The government said it would take action against BMC officials if they were found to have misled the legislature or ignored violations by developers.
Minister of State for Urban Development Madhuri Misal announced during a discussion on a calling attention motion moved by BJP MLA Mihir Kotecha.
Kotecha alleged that developers had shown “in‑situ” PTC (permanent transit camp) housing in project plans, but instead built and sold commercial shops and luxury apartments.
He claimed that in Mulund alone, flats worth over Rs 100 crore had been sold and that the scam across Mumbai amounted to more than Rs 2,000 crore.
He said the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) had admitted irregularities, but BMC officers were misleading the House.
He asked whether they would be suspended, stating that shops had been sold after being shown as “in situ” PTCs. He further said irregularities under schemes 33(11) and 33(20)(b) across Mumbai amounted to nearly Rs 2,000 crore.
Kotecha also questioned why developers and architects involved in such projects were not being taken to task.
He asked whether those who had sold stock worth Rs 25-50 crore would be sent to jail and whether the government would order a time‑bound vigilance audit of all such schemes citywide. He demanded that once the audit report was ready, a meeting be held with Mumbai’s MLAs.
Kotecha’s demands were supported by members from both ruling and opposition benches, including Dilip Lande, Murji Patel, Sunil Prabhu, Sunil Raut and Varun Sardesai, who strongly sought action against the concerned BMC officers, including their suspension.
Minister Misal admitted in the Assembly that several builders had failed to hand over the mandatory Permanent Transit Camps (PTCs) and Project Affected Persons (PAP) housing stock to the SRA or the BMC despite availing additional FSI benefits.
She said stop‑work notices had already been issued in some cases. She added that if records showed sales had taken place and officials had overlooked them, strict action would follow.
She said the audit would cover all ongoing schemes across Mumbai, not just Mulund, and that a detailed report was expected within a month.
Misal said that once the report was ready, a meeting would be convened with the Housing Minister and Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde to decide on punitive measures.
Regarding relocating slum dwellers beyond the stipulated five‑kilometre radius, she acknowledged that the policy was under review. She said the government was considering changes to ensure PAP housing was not shifted to distant areas like Malvani or Mankhurd, even though the project was in Mulund, and that a final decision would be taken after discussions.
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