Maharashtra to prosecute multiple allotees of flats under CM's quota

People who have secured multiple flats from the chief ministers discretionary quota on the basis of false declaration about not owning a house will now face prosecution Maharashtra government told the Bombay High Court todayThe government also informed a bench headed by Justice Abhay Oak about rescinding its decision to withdraw prosecution against double allottees if they surrendered one of the houses or in case the flats had been sold return the proceeds to the government equivalent to market value of the propertyThe governments decisions were communicated to the court through an affidavit filed by S K Salimath Deputy Secretary of the Urban Development Department The affidavit however said the government had recently accepted an August 30 2010 letter written on by Apoorva Javadekar son of Union Minister Prakash Javdekar offering to surrender a flat allotted to him under CMs discretionary quotaThe court was hearing a PIL filed by former journalist Ketan Tirodkar challenging double or multiple allotment of houses from the CMs quota The bench asked the government to file by June 23 a report confirming compliance of its order passed on March 20 by which it had struck down the policy for allotment of houses to the beneficiaries under CMs quota Describing the policy as illegal irrational and unfair the court had asked the state to frame a new policy which should be transparent and fair The bench had also restrained the state from making further allotments from the CMs quota under the policy struck down by the court Government pleader J P Yagnik today informed the bench that the state had stopped making further allotments under the CMs discretionary quota as directed by the courtThe court had observed in its March 20 order that the chief minister had absolute and unfettered discretion in allotment of houses which was not fair Members of the public should be informed that such schemes were available for them it had said Under the CMs discretionary quota flats were being allotted to various categories of people such as freedom fighters artists sportspersons journalists and government employeesThe PIL argued that beneficiaries of flats under CMs quota were either related to MLAs or MPs or were influential politicians themselves and the common man did not benefit from those schemes The petitioner alleged the government had not taken action against those who had secured more than one flat after making false declarations either by way of registering an FIR or cancelling the allotment He said the list of allottees submitted by the state to the court was not exhaustive and some names were missingThe government had earlier filed two affidavits stating what action they had taken against such beneficiaries One of affidavits said 14 cases had been identified wherein the same person or their spouse had been allotted more than one house under the CMs five per cent quota In two of these cases the affidavit said action had been initiated In one case FIR had been filed against the allottee by the competent authority and in the other the state had taken back the tenement The state is going to take appropriate legal action against the remaining allottees also it said