ACB to probe Mahira housing case: Haryana Agriculture Minister JP Dalal
Sumedha Sharma
Gurugram, December 29
Taking a stern stance on the issue of the Mahira affordable housing project, state Agriculture Minister JP Dalal has announced that a probe be conducted by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) in the same. Dalal was chairing a meeting of the District Grievance Committee when the issue of delayed possession of flats came to the fore.
Zero tolerance towards corruption
We have zero tolerance to any corruption or harassment of general public. The Vigilance Bureau will look into the matter now and justice will be done. JP Dalal, State Agriculture Minister
Homebuyers had highlighted how they had invested their life’s savings and 40 per cent in advance for 1,500 flats being built by the realty firm of Samalkha’s Congress MLA Dharam Singh Chhokar and his two sons. The homebuyers claimed that for the past two years there was no progress in construction work and they had no hope of getting their homes. Dalal asked them to submit a detailed complaint to the DC saying the vigilance will look into it now.
“We have zero tolerance to any corruption or harassment of general public. The vigilance will look into the matter now and justice will be done,” said Dalal.
The homebuyers had recently protested near Chhokar’s house in Samalkha, but all in vain. The MLA and his sons are already being probed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for alleged money laundering and taking the licence of a housing project with a fake bank guarantee.
The company had to build 1,500 houses on 10 acres and collected nearly Rs 360 crore from the home buyers, but failed to deliver them. The ED probing the matter raided the MLA’s residences and office premises and even moved to a Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court seeking arrest.
The investigation by the ED shows that the company siphoned off the money of the home buyers by recording fake construction expenditure in group entities and the cash equivalent to the fake purchases was received back from the entities by the directors of Mahira Group.
The money was allegedly used by the directors of the company for their personal gains. Several personal family expenditures were also recorded as construction expenditure in the group entities and the director also allegedly diverted the money collected from the home buyers to other group entities as loans.
The preliminary investigation revealed that around Rs 107 crore was siphoned off in the form of fake expenses and loans to the group entities.
