PUNE: On Friday, State Cabinet Minister Shambhuraj Desai clarified that there had been no misappropriation of flats or fraudulent transfers of Development Rights (TDR) in the Kothrud Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) project.
Desai was responding to a question from MLA Sunil Kamble, representing the Pune Cantonment constituency, who alleged that fraudulent TDRs and fake beneficiaries were being recorded for the Kothrud SRA project. Kamble called for an investigation into the wrongful allocation of additional TDR in the scheme.
Kamble pointed out that questionable electricity bills, ration cards, and other documents belonging to fictitious beneficiaries had been generated. These were used to include non-existent individuals in the project, facilitating home allotments. “It has also come to light that additional TDR, as well as an extended free-sale area and other benefits, were obtained from the government under false pretense, resulting in an estimated financial loss of around ₹100 crore,” he stated.
“There is an urgent need for a thorough and impartial investigation into these claims. A comprehensive review is required regarding the eligibility of all slum dwellers involved in the project, the documents submitted, the sanctioned additional TDR, the free-sale area, and the roles of both developers and government officials,” Kamble emphasized.
Desai reiterated that proper measures were taken in listing SRA beneficiaries for the scheme and allocating the TDR. He mentioned that the urban development department would examine the information or documents related to the allegations, and a meeting would be convened to address the concerns raised. Other MLAs, including Shankar Jagtap, Yogesh Sagar, Ram Kadam, and Vijay Wadettiwar, also voiced issues regarding SRA schemes in various cities, including Mumbai.
“Elected representatives must provide any details regarding alleged misappropriations in SRA projects to the relevant department for inspection,” Desai added.
