Mhada clerk held for taking bribes

A senior clerk of Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority's (MHADA) marketing department is under the radar of the Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) for demanding a sum of Rs 1,50,000 from a mill worker for sanctioning the allotment of a house. When ACB officials went to inspect the office along with the complainant, they caught MHADA's receiver demanding a sum of Rs200 for sanctioning the documents.

According to the ACB officials, the complainant had approached the clerk, Ridhi Sawant, a few months ago to ask for the allotment of a house under government's proposed rehabilitation scheme for mill workers.

An officer from ACB said, "The documents were under process and the complainant submitted relevant documents and amount necessary for the same. However, later when his documents were being scanned, the complainant was told by senior MHADA officers that he was not eligible for the house."

According to the complainant, when he inquired the reason, he was told that in order to be eligible for the house, he should have worked 240 days. He was told by Sawant that since he worked only 180 days, he wasn't eligible for the house.

Sawant refused to sanction the documents. The complaint has alleged that the reasoning by the clerk was not valid and no such rule applies. "Sawant told the complainant to pay a sum of Rs 2 lakh for sanctioning the documents. After negotiations, she agreed to reduce the bribe to Rs 1,50,000," said an officer.

The complainant approached the ACB officials, who accompanied him to MHADA office for inspection. At the office, the complainant approached the Receiver, Anand Gawali, and inquired about the sanctioning. He demanded a sum of Rs200 to process the files.

Both the clerk and the Receiver have been detained for questioning by the ACB. Arrests will be made after initial investigations.