Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has ordered a financial review of all the major works undertaken by the State Urban Development Department (UDD) in the past five years. The works include the controversial Mumbai Development Plan-2034 and the reservation of land made for it by the previous Bharatiya Janata Party government.
The records of projects related to the department in the past six months and the money spent on them should be submitted in the next one week, reads the directive from the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO). The directive also demands suggestions on how much funds would be needed for the UDD projects in the future.
“We have started submitting the details of the UDD works related to the DP, which had earmarked nearly 3,355 hectares of no-development zone and 2,100 hectares of land for affordable housing. The reservation of land parcel under the DP will also be reviewed,” said a senior official of the UDD.
Former Congress leader Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil last year made a sensational disclosure that the CMO had struck a deal of ₹10,000 crore with some builders in lieu of introducing some favourable changes in the Development Control and Promotion Regulation 2034 (DCPR 2034). The then Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had threatened to take Mr. Patil to court and demanded an unconditional apology.
Mr. Patil did not follow up on the allegations, while later joining the BJP. Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar had alleged Mr. Patil had joined the BJP in a bid to suppress the “multi crore scam in the preparation of the DCPR-2034.”
‘Scam suppressed’
“It is widely believed Mr. Vikhe Patil was allowed a berth in the government in return for a promise not to dig deeper into the scam in the DCPR-2034,” Mr. Pawar had said following the allegations by Mr. Patil.
Mr. Thackeray has asked officials to review four aspects of the previous government. To begin with, a review of all decisions taken in the past six months, financial white paper on the economic situation of the State and review of schemes declared as compensation during drought and other calamities. A farm loan waiver given by the previous government is also under review.
“The funds made available by the State and Central government under the Pant Pradhan Kisan Samman Nidhi, Peek Veema Yojna, Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana and other beneficial schemes for the farmers be reviewed,” reads a note from the CMO. The DCPR had provided a blueprint for the development of the city’s land parcels while suggesting ways to redevelop 9,000 ceased buildings in the city. The DCPR 2034 came into effect from September 1, 2018 after the previous DP lapsed. The plan will also regulate all construction of commercial and residential buildings it the city for the next decade and a half and is considered most important document in planning of the city.
