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For over a decade, the dreams of more than 6,000 Mumbai policemen to own a home have remained unfulfilled due to the mismanagement of the housing society established for this purpose. This issue has now escalated to the Bombay High Court, with affected policemen seeking a halt to the scheduled October elections for the housing society through a civil writ petition. The Bombay HC has instructed the respondents to provide their responses. Among the aggrieved individuals are constables and sub-inspectors.
The turmoil revolves around allegations of irregularities in the manner the interim chief promoter, a retired IPS officer, handled the formation of the voters' list for the society's elections. It is claimed that the Assistant Registrar of the Co-operation Department in Khalapur overlooked the expulsion of the chief promoter and approved the voter list prepared by him. The civil writ petition also calls for an investigation into alleged malpractices and illegalities within the housing society.
The respondents in this legal battle include the additional chief secretary of the Department of Co-operatives, Marketing, and Textile; the additional chief secretary of the Department of Home; the commissioner of cooperation; the registrar of cooperative societies; the chairman/secretary of the Brihanmumbai Police Cooperative Housing Society Ltd, and six others.
The inception of this housing township dates back to 2011 when plans were first devised to provide 10,000 flats for police personnel. In February 2012, a police circular was issued to initiate the project. Advocate Siddharth Ingle, representing the aggrieved policemen, shed light on the financial aspects, stating that the membership for the project initially stood at Rs 1,21,100. However, this amount was subsequently increased to over Rs 2 lakh and then exceeded Rs 3 lakh after 2020.
The project was conceived under the leadership of the then Mumbai police commissioner, and a senior IPS officer, who was the superintendent of police in Raigad at the time (and has since retired), was appointed as the interim chief promoter responsible for procuring land in Tembri/Vayaal village, Khalapur, Panvel. Another retired IPS officer oversaw the scrutiny committee.
Over 11,100 police personnel expressed their interest in membership, with 6,771 members ultimately being shortlisted. Each policeman was entitled to a 650 sqft 2BHK flat within the proposed township, which was intended to sprawl across 120 acres. Initially, the cost of the flats was set at Rs 10 lakh, but this amount later escalated to Rs 30 lakh. In line with the 2012 police circular, shortlisted members were required to provide power of attorney in the name of the chief promoter, who would be responsible for procuring land for the project. However, this process was deemed unethical by Ingle.
One of the most significant discrepancies revolves around the ownership of the land. Despite being procured for the housing society, the land remains in the name of the interim chief promoter, a blatant violation of the Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act, 1960. Additionally, the 7/12 property card from the revenue department reflects the interim chief promoter as the owner of the 120 acres of land, further compounding the issue.
Allegations have also emerged regarding an additional 85-guntha land being acquired in the name of another retired IPS officer who was in charge of the scrutiny committee. Consequently, the civil writ petition has called for a high-level committee to investigate these matters. It also seeks the quashing of the final voter list, dated August 3, which was prepared by the interim chief promoter and the society's executive committee.
The petition asserts that the interim chief promoter compiled the voter list despite being expelled by the taluka co-operative election officer and assistant registrar of co-operative societies in Khalapur earlier in the year. These officials appointed the Board of Authorized Officers, Brihanmumbai Police Cooperative Housing Society Ltd, to take charge and create the voter list.
Advocate Rashid Khan, the lead counsel appearing before the Bombay HC, commented on the situation, stating that while the intention behind the Brihanmumbai Police Sahakari Gruhnirman Sanstha is commendable, its functioning raises questions. The current managing committee appears to have lost sight of the society's primary goal, eroding the trust of its members.
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