The Bombay high court on Thursday gave the Maharashtra govt last chance to file its reply on a plea alleging corruption in allotment of public parking lots by chief minister Prithviraj Chavan. A division bench of justices VM Kanade and PD Kode asked additional govt pleader Geeta Shastri to file the reply within four weeks.
The court was hearing a PIL by social activist Pravin Wategaonkar, who had submitted additional documents acquired under Right to Information showing how the CM had withheld/kept pending files for about 3 to 14 months after they had reached him duly scrutinised, first by BMC's empowered committee and then by Urban Development Dept (UDD) officials.
Shastri sought time to file reply saying a draft affidavit had been sent to the UDD for approval. UDD has said it would take three weeks to approve it.
Wategaonkar argued that this was delaying tactics being adopted by the govt. “By August the election code of conduct would be in place and this is an attempt to thwart HC examining the material,” said Wategaonkar.
Wategaonkar had filed additional affidavit last month along with documents showing that the files had been withheld after the UDD principal secretary had clearly remarked that they were okay and could be approved.
Wategaonkar argued that the proposals of Runwal Developers, Wadhwa Residency and Lodha Developers for constructing public parking lots at Mulund, Ghatkopar and Altmount Road, respectively, had been cleared within 3-5 months. As against this, other proposals of lesser known developers took 8 to 14 months for being cleared although they were received around the same time. “This was withheld even after all authorities had cleared the proposal,” said Wategaonkar.
“This deliberate withholding/pending of files by the CM gave room for a person close to/relative of the CM, Shri Rohan Jagdale, to negotiate with builders, and after collecting money/reaching an understanding with these builders through Shri Rohan Jagdale, the pending proposals of only those builders, who had paid/agreed to pay, were cleared by the CM,” reads his affidavit.
He further alleged that the sanctioning of the proposals, since Chavan became the CM, had been vitiated due to arbitrariness, nepotism, mala-fides, loss to exchequer and corruption, and was against public interest.
Wategaonkar has sought forensic auditing of books of accounts of all developers whose proposals were sanctioned to detect bribes/speed money paid. Till such an audit takes place, he has sought that status quo be maintained in respect of these Public Parking Lot proposals. The PIL also alleges that the CM and the UDD minister had been charging exorbitant amounts for sanctioning these proposals and has sought probe under Prevention of Corruption Act against the alleged offenders.
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