High Court seeks Maharashtra government reply on housing scheme

The Bombay High Court on Tuesday directed the Maharashtra Government to file an affidavit in reply to a public interest litigation alleging lack of transparency in allotment of houses under a scheme and misuse of the chief minister's discretionary quota.

Chandrabhan Sangle, a former sportsman who represented the state in hammer throw at national and district level competitions, filed the PIL after waiting for more than two decades for a flat promised under the Chief Minister's quota.

In his petition, Sangle alleged that tenements under the government scheme, which seeks to address housing needs of certain categories of people, have been allotted "only to those who are close to politicians".

Sangle had applied for an accommodation under the 10% chief minister’s quota on April 3, 1989. The urban development department had sanctioned a tenement to him in May 1989. The flat was to be allotted within six months, but till 2009 Sangle was 65th on the waiting list.

In August 2009, when Sangle sought information about the number of flats allotted since 1989, he learnt that nearly 4,500 tenements had been given to persons "who have close relations with politicians".