Three months after the state ACB registered an FIR against senior bureaucrat T C Benjamin and builder Niranjan Hiranandani in the alleged Powai real estate scam, a government affidavit in the Bombay High Court has given a clean chit to Benjamin.
Benjamin, at present Additional Chief Secretary (Health), had filed a petition seeking quashing of the FIR against him.
The affidavit filed by Manu Srivastava, Principal Secretary (UD-1) of the Urban Development Department (UDD) earlier this month states, “…the state government has taken the decision to levy a penal amount on the developer in the instant matter after following Rules of Business and duly taking into account the relevant government resolutions/circulars, Development Control Regulations and the government policies issued form time to time and as such there is no illegality committed on the part of the petitioner (Benjamin)….”
Benjamin had filed the petition through lawyer Satish Borulkar.
The allegation against Benjamin was that he had not taken necessary action against Hiranandani for allegedly building luxury flats in Powai in breach of a tripartite agreement between the builder, the state government and the MMRDA with regard to Powai Area Development Scheme (PADS).
The affidavit states that after receiving a report of complaints of breach of the tripartite agreement from the MMRDA, the UDD sent the file through the then Additional Chief Secretary (UD-1) Ramanand Tiwari to the then Chief Minister (CM) Vilasrao Deshmukh on February 27, 2008. Deshmukh had directed the MMRDA to calculate the area under violation, charge TDR (Transfer of Development Rights) loading premium, charge 100 per cent market rate for area violation and ask the builder to pay Rs 3 crore till such calculations are made.
The constituted authority for land-owners sought arbitration under the provisions of the tripartite agreement, and retired Justice Arvind Sawant was appointed the arbitrator, Srivastava’s affidavit states.
“I say that the arbitrator held in his award dated August 16, 2011 that the developer and the landholders were not liable to pay any penal amount to the MMRDA,” Srivastava’s affidavit stated. The state government and the MMRDA have, however, challenged the arbitrator’s award in the HC.
Regarding Benjamin’s role, the affidavit said he took charge as Principal Secretary (UD-1) on March 1, 2008, convened a meeting on December 11, 2008 and constituted a six-member committee to submit a report on PADS. The panel submitted its report on December 15, 2008 to the UDD, the affidavit states.
Source: MAYURA JANWALKAR The Indian Express
