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Indian Express
02-07-2025
- Indian Express
ED raids 16 places in Vasai-Virar, money worth Rs 12 crore frozen
After conducting day-long searches on Tuesday, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has frozen Rs 12 crore worth bank balances, demat accounts, fixed deposits, mutual funds and also seized Rs 25 lakh in cash during raids at 16 premises of architects, liaison agents, and others linked to the Vasai Virar Municipal Corporation (VVMC) officials and builders allegedly involved in the illegal construction of 41 buildings in the region. This is the second round of searches by the central agency in the VVMC area in two months in connection with a money laundering probe into an illegal building construction case, suspecting a well-oiled syndicate operating behind it. In the first round, the agency searched the premises of VVMC officials, rogue builders and their associates. In the second round, which also covered some of the premises in Juhu (belonging to a known architect) and Kandivali areas of Mumbai, the ED focused on the premises of liaison officers, architects, and middlemen who allegedly coordinated between builders and VVMC officials. The middlemen were involved in routing the bribe paid to VVMC officials by rogue builders for regularising illegal constructions, agency sources said. The ED has also seized incriminating documents during the search, indicating gross forgery and fabrication of documents done to bypass rules and regularise unauthorised projects. The suspect architects and liasoning officials are suspected to have played an important role here, another source said. The anti-money laundering agency suspect that the accused VVMC officials in connivance with the rogue builder deliberately overlooked irregularities for monetary gains. In May, the agency raided 13 locations in Nalasopara, Vasai, Virar and Hyderabad as well. It seized approximately Rs 8.6 crore in cash and Rs 23.25 crore worth of diamond-studded jewellery and bullion from the house of Y S Reddy, deputy director of town planning, Vasai-Virar City Municipal Corporation (VVMC). The ED's money laundering investigation is based on multiple FIRs registered by the Mira-Bhayandar, Vasai-Virar police commissionerate against builders, local henchmen and others for 'illegal construction of residential/commercial buildings on government and private land' under the jurisdiction of VVMC since 2009. ED suspects a large-scale scam involving illegal construction in the Vasai Virar area, with complicity from officials of VVMC. According to the ED, 41 illegal buildings in question were constructed on the land reserved for 'sewage treatment plant' and 'dumping ground' as per the approved development plan of Vasai Virar city. 'The accused builders deceived the public at large by constructing illegal buildings on such land and subsequently developers sell flats to people by fabricating approval documents,' the ED said. 'Even with prior knowledge that these buildings were unauthorised and would eventually be demolished, the developers misled the people by selling rooms in these buildings, thereby committing serious fraud,' the agency added. The 41 buildings were demolished on February 20, 2025, by the order of the Bombay High Court, which the Supreme Court later upheld. The families living in these buildings were left homeless. The agency stated that the key perpetrators of the alleged scam in the VVMC area have been identified as Sitaram Gupta and Arun Gupta, among others and further investigation is on.
Indian Express
01-07-2025
- Indian Express
ED raids 16 places in second round of crackdown against syndicate behind unauthorised constructions in Vasai-Virar
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted searches at 16 locations in the Vasai-Virar Municipal Corporation (VVMC) region Tuesday in connection with a money laundering probe into an illegal building construction case, suspecting a well-oiled syndicate operating behind it. This is the second round of searches in the same case. In May, the agency raided 13 locations in Nalasopara, Vasai, and Virar near Mumbai and Hyderabad. It seized approximately Rs 8.6 crore in cash and Rs 23.25 crore worth of diamond-studded jewellery and bullion from the house of Y S Reddy, deputy director of town planning, Vasai-Virar City Municipal Corporation (VVMC). Agency sources said the second round of searches primarily covers liaison officers, architects, and middlemen who allegedly coordinated between builders and VVMC officials. The ED's money laundering investigation is based on multiple FIRs registered by the Mira Bhayandar Vasai Virar police commissionerate against builders, local henchmen and others for 'illegal construction of residential-cum-commercial buildings on government and private land' under the jurisdiction of VVMC since 2009. Earlier, the documents seized during previous searches revealed a large-scale scam involving illegal construction in the Vasai Virar area, with complicity from officials of VVMC, according to the ED. During the previous searches, ED covered the house of a former Bahujan Vikas Aghadi Party (BVA) corporator and an alleged criminal having links with a gangster. According to the ED, 41 illegal buildings in question were constructed on the land reserved for 'sewage treatment plant' and 'dumping ground' as per the approved development plan of Vasai Virar city. 'The accused builders and developers deceived the public at large by constructing illegal buildings on such land and subsequently selling it to them by fabricating approval documents,' the ED said. 'Even with prior knowledge that these buildings were unauthorised and would eventually be demolished, the developers misled the people by selling rooms in these buildings, thereby committing serious fraud,' the agency added. The 41 buildings were demolished on February 20, 2025, by the order of the Bombay High Court, which the Supreme Court later upheld. Families living in these buildings were left homeless. According to the ED, key perpetrators of the alleged scam in the VVMC area have been identified as Sitaram Gupta, Arun Gupta, among others. Reddy, the VVMC officer at the centre of the alleged fraud, was earlier arrested in April 2016 by the Thane unit of the Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) for allegedly offering Rs 25 lakh to a Shiv Sena corporator to stop going ahead with court cases against him.
Hans India
01-07-2025
- Hans India
ED searches 16 locations in Vasai-Virar land scam
Mumbai: In a crackdown against politician-builder-official nexus, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday searched 16 premises, including offices of architects, in a case related to illegal construction of homes and offices on 60 acres of government land in Maharashtra's Vasai-Virar region. On Tuesday, one of the ED teams searched a premises in Padmaraj building in Vasai West. The investigators arrived at the spot at 7 a.m. in two vehicles, said an area resident. As part of the land scam, the accused duped home and office buyers by fabricating documents and carrying out construction on government and private land, and selling these illegal properties to them, said an ED official, adding that 41 such illegal buildings were pulled down by civic agencies in February this year. The case pertains to "illegal construction of residential-cum-commercial buildings on government and private land" under jurisdiction of "Vasai Virar Municipal Corporation (VVMC)" since 2009, the ED official said. It has been found that the key perpetrators of the large-scale scam in the jurisdiction of VVMC are Sitaram Gupta, Arun Gupta and others, including the civic agency's Deputy Director of Town Planning, Y.S. Reddy. In May, the ED had searched 13 different premises across Mumbai and Hyderabad, seizing cash and jewellery worth nearly Rs 32 crore in the case related to illegal construction of homes and offices on government land in Vasai-Virar city. During searches at Reddy's premises, Rs 8.6 crore and diamond-studded jewellery and bullion worth Rs 23.25 crore were seized, an official said. Over a period of time, 41 illegal buildings were constructed on the land reserved for "Sewage Treatment Plant" and "Dumping Ground" as per the approved development plan of Vasai Virar city, he added. "Even with prior knowledge that these buildings were unauthorised and would eventually be demolished, the developers misled the people by selling rooms in these buildings, thereby committing serious fraud," the ED said in a statement. The federal agency said the Bombay High Court had on July 8, 2024, ordered the demolition of all 41 buildings. Thereafter, a Special Leave Petition was filed before the Supreme Court by the families residing in 41 illegal buildings, which was dismissed. The demolition of all 41 buildings was completed by VVMC on February 20, 2025. Maharashtra's fifth largest city, Vasai-Virar, is an agglomeration of four previously governed municipal councils: Vasai (Bassein), Virar, Nallasopara and Navghar-Manikpur, as well as a few towns to the east and west of the urban area. It lies in the Konkan division.
Hindustan Times
24-06-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
Solid waste piles up in Vasai-Virar as civic body, contractors face off in court
MUMBAI: Residents in the Vasai -Virar region are finding themselves at the receiving end of a conflict between the municipal corporation and eight civic contractors in solid waste management services. Eight contractors, who participated in the tendering process for these services, had made it to the shortlist but they have now approached the Bombay High Court, seeking a stay on a second tender floated after the corporation cancelled the first one. The corporation says it cancelled the tender on 'technical grounds'. Solid waste piles up in Vasai-Virar as civic body, contractors face off in court The Vasai-Virar Municipal Corporation (VVMC) floated the first tender in September 2024, to appoint contractors to undertake solid waste management services. This included daily cleaning, cleaning of sewage chambers, door-to-door garbage collection, housing society garbage collection, and the disposal of the solid waste thus collected at dumping yards. The tender, whose value was ₹ 207 crore, covered a period of three years, from 2025-26 to 2027-28. VVMC officials said several contractors had submitted applications and, on October 11, 2024, after technical scrutiny, eight contractors were declared eligible. However, in May 2025, the VVMC floated a second tender, after cancelling the first one, and raised its value to ₹ 254 crore. The eight contractors found eligible under the first tender have approached the court, challenging the decision to invite a second tender. They said they had already paid the sum required to start work and had approached VVMC Commissioner Anilkumar Pawar but he was unmoved. 'We were prepared to start work and requested an annual increase of 10%. However, the commissioner cancelled the tender, citing technical reasons, and increased the sum to ₹ 254 crore,' said one of the contractors. Asked why the sum had suddenly been raised, Sanjay Herwade, additional municipal commissioner, VVMC, said this was due to an increase in the population in the region, from 12 lakh in 2007. 'All the eight contractors have to do is reapply,' said Herwade. The court has conducted two hearings in the case, on June 9 and 18, but it has neither passed an order nor has it stayed the tendering process. The case has, however, taken a turn with Dhananjay Gawade, founder of an NGO, Swaraj Abhyan, intervening in the case. During the June 18 hearing, Gawade alleged in court that, in 2019, a First Information Report (FIR) had been registered against the eight contractors for misappropriation of ₹ 122 crore, due to which they were blacklisted. 'VVMC should never have selected these contractors during the first tendering process,' he said. The court has sought a written application from the NGO before the next hearing. The contractors, for their part, claim they have met the requirements of the tending process as the companies they currently represent have not been blacklisted by the VVMC. Meanwhile, residents say the tug-of-war between contractors and the VVMC has begun to take a toll on civic services. 'Due to the shoddy work of contractors, roads have started to get waterlogged in several areas as the storm water drains have not been cleaned,' said 45-year-old Raj Dosani, a resident of Vasai. 'If this continues, garbage collection will stop and that will only make things worse,' he said.
The Print
26-05-2025
- The Print
Builders, politicians, civic officials under lens—what's the Vasai-Virar illegal buildings case
Of the 60 acres on which the buildings were erected, around 30 acres were reserved for a sewage treatment plant and dumping ground. The remaining patch was private land, allegedly grabbed by a former corporator and his accomplices. Last week, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) sprang into action, raiding multiple locations in Mumbai and Hyderabad in connection with a money laundering probe linked to these buildings. A total of Rs 32 crore was recovered from a town planning official of the Vasai-Virar Municipal Corporation (VVMC), Y.S. Reddy. According to the agency, more VVMC officials could be involved. Several builders, politicians and local henchmen are also under the scanner, in connection with what is being probed as a massive case of land grabbing, illegal construction, and sale of flats using fake occupancy certificates. Mumbai: Fifteen years ago, 41 residential-cum-commercial buildings were constructed illegally in the Virar-Nalasopara area near Mumbai on land earmarked for public use. In February this year, they were demolished on court orders, which resulted in many families being rendered homeless. Now, these fallen buildings are at the centre of an alleged scam worth Rs 9,000 crore. The ED is now probing the matter based on an investigation by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mira-Bhayander-Vasai-Virar (MBVV) police, which had begun in 2023. The EOW initiated its probe after multiple FIRs were registered at the Achole police station in Vasai. The many families that were displaced by the February demolitions of the 41 buildings—carried out on the orders of the Bombay High Court, which were later upheld by the Supreme Court—are still awaiting rehabilitation. Advocate Vijay Kurle, who represents the affected residents, told ThePrint, 'We have sought directions from the high court and state government for rehabilitation. But the state is taking time to frame the (rehabilitation) policy. They have already taken time after demolition of these buildings, and it is now violating the residents' fundamental right to shelter.' ThePrint has reached VVMC commissioner Anil Pawar via calls and messages for comment. This report will be updated if and when a response is received. Also Read: Mahayuti govt unveils new housing policy with emphasis on slum redevelopment. What it promises The allegations & a timeline of the case Until the 1990s, Virar-Vasai was governed by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA). Then the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) was appointed as special planning authority, until 2009, when the VVMC was formed, and took over in 2010. However, the constant factor since 2004 was Y.S. Reddy, the town planning official in the Vasai-Virar sub region. He was previously posted under CIDCO, and as soon as VVMC was formed, he was transferred there. Several activists and protesters claim this was done without due process. In 2006, Sitaram Gupta—a former corporator from regional political party Bahujan Vikas Aaghadi, and the 'main perpetrator' of the alleged scam according to the EOW—started fraudulently acquiring land in the area, along with his relative Arun Gupta and others. The 60-acre plot was a mix of government and privately owned land. Around 30 acres spread across Agarwal Nagar in Nalasopara East was reserved for a dumping ground and sewage treatment plant. The rest was private land owned by one family, the Patels. When Ajay Sharma, caretaker of this private property owned by the Patel brothers—Mohanlal, Ramanlal and Dhirajlal, based in Canada and New Zealand—visited the site back in 2008, he saw construction boards on the plot. In 2009, a few structures had started coming up on the land—initially in the form of chawls, and then bigger buildings. Sharma filed multiple complaints with the VVMC, but claims they went unheard. Speaking to ThePrint, he claimed that starting 2009, Sitaram Gupta and Arun Gupta colluded with local henchmen to grab land using fake commencement certificates, and that this was done at the behest of underworld don Chota Rajan's aide Vijay Tambat. Sharma said he had complained against Sitaram Gupta, not Tambat, who was arrested by EOW after investigation. Between 2010 and 2012, several illegal structures came up on the plot. Sharma told ThePrint that the Guptas sold the units without any right to do so. 'VVMC officials including Anil Pawar are involved in this scam. Although the buildings were built before Pawar's tenure, after he took over as commissioner, property tax was recovered from these units,' he said. He further alleged that 'high-level corruption' had taken place through the route of the Prabhag Samiti (division committee)—a panel within the municipal corporation that focuses on local issues, and acts as a bridge between residents of a ward and the local administration. 'Most transfers within VVMC happened in Prabhag Samiti–D, where at least 10 people were transferred in a year on an average. Because whenever I used to complain and it used to be in the final stages, new officers would be present,' said Sharma. He claimed that since he had been pursuing the matter, he had also been physically attacked. In 2016, Dhananjay Gawade, a former Shiv Sena corporator, had complained to the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) that VVMC's Y.S. Reddy had offered him a bribe of Rs 1 crore to withdraw complaints against him. Speaking to ThePrint, Gawade alleged that Reddy was involved in granting bogus commencement certificates based on building permit (BP) numbers. Since the plot was reserved for public use, the BP number would get rejected. But the buildings would be constructed anyway. 'For example, a ground plus one certificate would be given. Then slowly, that certificate would be manipulated to build extra floors, and Reddy never paid attention as he himself was involved,' he said. 'I realised all this after 2015, when I became the corporator and I complained.' After this, Reddy was suspended from service for two years, but was later reinstated to the same post. Local activist Terence Hendriquies, who has been speaking out about the alleged scam for a long time, questioned how Reddy was kept in the same position for several years. 'Every officer normally gets transferred in three years, but Reddy was not moved from the town planning department,' he said. 'And it is not only about Reddy. Many second level officials were transferred, but reinstated in VVMC after a gap of a few months or so. Why?' Under Reddy, about 80 percent of the plots were sold illegally, Hendriquies alleged. He added that he had filed an RTI query seeking the number of illegal units sold in the area under VVMC, and was shocked to find out that around 5 lakh illegal units had been sold, on which property tax was recovered. ThePrint has seen the RTI response. Gawade had also claimed to have exposed several illegal constructions in Vasai-Virar area before. But in 2021, he was accused of extortion based on the information obtained via RTI by affected builders, and was subsequently arrested. However, he claimed that he was, in fact, the whistleblower in the case, and was released in 2023. The investigation so far Multiple FIRs in the matter were registered in 2022 after Sharma's complaints under sections 420, 447, 465, 467, 468, 471, 474 and 34 (cheating, criminal trespass, forgery, possession of forged document, using forged document as genuine, among others) of the Indian Penal Code. According to an FIR based on the Patels' complaint, the family had owned the plot since 1977. In 2008, when they realised that construction was being undertaken on their plot, they found out that Sitaram Gupta had forged documents to show that he had bought the land from them, Piyush Patel, a relative of the Patels, said in the FIR. In August 2023, the case was transferred to the EOW. According to the EOW notice, on plot surveys number 22-34 reserved for dumping ground and sewage treatment plant, 'illegal buildings were constructed using forged documents and people were duped'. The EOW found in its probe that Sitaram and Tambat were issuing bogus certificates on behalf of VVMC, suspecting that VVMC officials were involved, after which the two were arrested. According to EOW's supplementary chargesheet, the accused Arun Gupta, Sitaram Gupta and Vijay Tambat all connived and produced forged documents. After this came the court judgment that the structures on survey number 22-34 should be demolished. 'There are many officers of VVMC, who have flats in the illegal buildings. I had complained to VVMC many times, but it all fell on deaf ears,' said Hendriquies, quoted earlier. On 5 May this year, Sharma filed a writ petition in the court against VVMC commissioner Pawar, alleging, 'The members of the land mafia use force, violence as well as unnatural influence from office bearers of VVMC to sell the land to third parties… And despite the court action against the encroachers in Vasai and Virar and orders by the court, no positive action was taken on the part by VVMC. On the contrary, there is a rise in such activities.' Demolition & residents' ordeal Among the buyers of the residential flats in these illegal buildings were daily wage earners, labourers, and those from lower middle class. The demolition impacted about 2,100 families. As the matter reached the Bombay High Court in July 2024, an order was passed to demolish the illegal buildings. But since it was during the monsoon months, the court had given temporary relief to the residents—which could be between 8,000 and 10,000 in number—in terms of more time. In October 2024, the high court refused to stay the order further. Initially, seven buildings were demolished. The residents then approached the Supreme court, which eventually upheld the demolition order. By February this year, all 41 buildings were demolished. The apex court had asked the Maharashtra government to come up with a policy to rehabilitate the affected people. But five months down the line, there is nothing in sight. In this period, students were affected, too, said advocate Kurle, as one of the schools on the stretch of land was also demolished. About 50 students ended up missing their Class 10 examinations. Many of the impacted families are now living with their relatives or in kuccha houses. Kurle said that the next hearing in the Bombay High Court is in June after the court's summer break to seek rehabilitation on an urgent basis. 'We have raised all these issues, and in the next hearing, we will insist that the state should form the policy, and if not, we will press for the alternate accommodation.' (Edited by Mannat Chugh) Also Read: How Mumbai civic body is using AI to hold contractors accountable during pre-monsoon desilting
