NCP wants ACB to probe Palava housing scam

The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has demanded a probe by the anti-corruption bureau (ACB) into the alleged Palava housing scam. NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik on Thursday said that truth should come out and the guilty should be punished.

Addressing the press conference, Malik said that Lodha Group got floor space index (FSI) worth Rs3,000 crore by paying only Rs9 crore. "Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis had already issued a stop-work notice to this project. It has been learnt that the scrutiny file of this project is missing. This shows that there is something amiss in the whole thing. That needs to be investigated property by the ACB. Who is the person who earned almost Rs3,000 crore revenue and who are the officials who helped to allot this huge quantum of FSI? People have the right to know the truth," said Malik.

The mega Palava city project has been undertaken by Lodha Group at Dombivli. Lodha Group is owned by BJP legislator Mangal Prabhat Lodha. The 30 lakh square feet of additional built-up space was sanctioned by former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan. "Due to the undue advantage given to the group, chief minister Fadnavis stopped the project work. However, no probe has been initiated," said a source.

Political observers say that the NCP wants to take advantage of this issue to corner former Congress chief minister Prithviraj Chavan who marginalised the NCP.