The State Government on Thursday sought more time from the Bombay High Court to submit a list of people allotted two or more flats under the chief minister’s discretionary quota.
A division bench of Justice P V Hardas and Justice Revati Mohite-Dere was hearing a PIL by activist Ketan Tirodkar seeking registration of offences against people who benefited from multiple allotments under the quota.
On July 4, Tirodkar had told the court that the government had not submitted the list of multiple allottees despite an April 10, 2012, high court order directing it to do so, following which the government assured the court the list would be filed by July 18.
On Thursday, additional public prosecutor Aruna Pai told the court that she had instructions from the urban development department to state that it required more time to verify the names of people allotted multiple flats.
“We have got the list of flats allotted under the CM quota, but we need some more time. Whether there is second or third allotment done, we have to verify,” Pai said.
She urged the court for six to eight weeks’ adjournment. Tirodkar argued that he had submitted “clear-cut cases of double allotments”, which he received under the RTI Act, and had included these in his petition.
The judges directed him to file a list of such allotments and give a copy of it to the state government.
“We’ll decide at the next hearing whether to grant you (state) more time,” Justice Hardas saidIn his petition, Tirodkar alleged that there were several cases where a second allotment was made either to the same allottee or to a spouse or another member of the family.
He said politicians and journalists were the main beneficiaries. His petition mentioned the names of Rashmi Thackeray’s brother Shrirang Patankar and brother-in-law Satish Sardesai, who got flats in Pune, minister of state D P Sawant’s wife Ranjana, who has two flats in Pune, cabinet minister Narayan Rane’s brother Ashok, who got a flat in Pune, and Bhagwati Sharma, mother-in-law of former CM Ashok Chavan, who has a flat allotted in Powai.
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Government-plays-for-time-time-in-multiple-flats-case/articleshow/21153079.cms
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