Nashik Municipal Corporation Concludes Hearings on EWS Housing Violations
The Nashik Municipal Corporation (NMC) has successfully completed hearings for 169 landowners and developers who stand accused of violating mandatory Economically Weaker Section (EWS) housing regulations. The town planning department of the civic body conducted these hearings as part of an extensive scrutiny into alleged breaches of the rule that mandates a 20% EWS housing reservation for development projects spanning more than 4,000 square meters.
Legal Action and Investigation Background
Last month, the Sarkarwada police registered a formal cheating case against more than 150 landowners and developers for allegedly circumventing the essential EWS housing requirement. This First Information Report (FIR) was lodged following a detailed complaint by a land records department official. The complaint emerged after an inquiry conducted by the additional district collector revealed significant violations of the state housing policies established in 2013 and 2017. These policies explicitly require developers to allocate reserved housing units to eligible beneficiaries through the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA).
Hearing Process and Preliminary Findings
A senior official from the NMC's town planning department confirmed that hearings were meticulously held for all 169 parties involved in the investigation. During these proceedings, maps related to 49 distinct survey numbers were thoroughly examined and analyzed. "The hearings are now officially complete, and our department is actively preparing a comprehensive report based on all submissions and findings gathered throughout this process," the official stated.
According to preliminary observations shared by the official, compliance levels among the accused parties appear to be mixed and inconsistent. "In certain cases, landowners have indeed set aside land specifically designated for EWS housing purposes. However, in other instances, the plot area was found to be below the 4,000 square meter threshold, which exempts them from the reservation requirement. All such critical observations and detailed findings will be systematically included in the final report to be submitted to both the state government and the Special Investigation Team," the official elaborated further.
Special Investigation Team and Scope of Probe
The state government recently constituted a dedicated Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the alleged violations of the EWS housing quota within Nashik city. This high-level investigation team is headed by Nashik divisional commissioner Praveen Gedam, who brings significant administrative experience to the role. The SIT's investigation comprehensively covers 49 distinct development projects executed between the years 2013 and 2024. Developers involved in these projects are accused of employing fraudulent land bifurcation techniques to deliberately evade their legal obligation to provide 20% of residential units under the MHADA quota system.
The NMC's detailed report, once finalized, will serve as a crucial document for both the state government authorities and the SIT as they continue their rigorous investigation into these serious allegations of housing norm violations affecting economically weaker sections of society in Nashik.
