While the Mumbai police grapples with a shortage of nearly 20,000 staff quarters in the city, IPS officers have flouted rules and made big bucks by leasing out houses given to them.
Juhu flats leased out at whopping rates in violation of allotment conditions
MUMBAI: While the Mumbai police grapples with a shortage of nearly 20,000 staff quarters in the city, senior IPS officers have flouted rules and made big bucks by leasing out houses given to them.
A query filed under the Right to Information (RTI) Act has revealed that city police brass let out their flats (see box) in two buildings at Juhu that were built on a plot of dereserved land originally meant for police quarters.
This is in complete violation of the stipulations made by then Mumbai police chief MN Singh when he urged the state government to dereserve the plot in 2001.
At least 34 IPS officers were allotted flats in the two nine-storey buildings of Vasundhara Cooperative Housing Society at JVPD scheme.
After a public interest litigation (PIL) pertaining to the plot was admitted by the Bombay high court early this year, petitioner Yogachariya Anand Joshi sought and carried out an inspection of all papers of the plot through the office of Mumbai police commissioner Hassan Gafoor under the RTI Act.
“On May 21, 2001, Singh wrote to the additional chief secretary (home) asking for the plot to be dereserved,” said Joshi. Singh’s letter states that “the plot 194-A2 is reserved for police quarters since 1974 and is not used for the purpose for 26 years. We are likely to lose the plot.” It adds that there is a group of IPS officers (42 names were mentioned in the letter) who would like to build a society for their residential purpose.
The land was subsequently dereserved and the officers acquired it from the JVPD scheme for development.
Singh, however, laid down three conditions for the society after dereservation.
“Once the flats were constructed, the beneficiaries will vacate their government quarters, and thereafter not use any official residence while in service in Mumbai. The beneficiaries will not selllease or rent out these residential premises,” states the letter.
In addition to these, Singh also stipulated that while 4,500 sq yards of the 6,500 sq yard plot would be utilised for the residential society, the rest 2,000 sq yards may still be used for “building police quarters which will largely solve and fulfill the shortage of police quarters in north Mumbai”.
However, some IPS officers are yet to relinquish their official staff quarters. To top it, they have even entered into lease agreements with private firms at whopping commercial rates.
As for utilising the remaining land for police quarters, that’s going to remain only a pipe dream because the Vasundhara CHS has constructed a swimming pool on the plot. Besides, two apartments have been converted into a club house for society members.
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