SC requests information from MHADA on the status of FIRs against builders and surplus areas.

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (Mhada) to submit details of the surplus area agreed to surrender by builders in 246 housing development and redevelopment projects, as well as the status of FIRs registered by Mhada against builders, within three weeks.

The SC bench issued this order, putting Mhada in a difficult position because the authority had come to the SC to challenge a Bombay High Court order directing the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) to register FIRs against its officials for alleged collusion with builders resulting from none of the surplus area, which was to be used for providing housing to the underprivileged.

Only 133 developers surrendered surplus land. An order by a Supreme Court bench of Justices M R Shah and M M Sundresh seeking information on surplus land surrendered by builders as well as Mhada is in a bind due to the status of FIRs in 246 projects. The agency had filed an appeal with the Supreme Court against a High Court order trying to direct FIRs against builders for collusion.

The Mhada Act went into effect in 1976 to make it easier to repair and rebuild old cess. A person, Kamlakar R Shenoy, had approached the HC with information obtained through RTI, demonstrating that, as of March 14, 2014, the Board had given approval for the redevelopment of 1,728 projects, of which 379 developers had not surrendered constructed areas totalling 1,37,332 square metres to Mhada.

The HC also discovered that only 133 developers had surrendered constructed components totalling 32,233 square metres and that Mhada/Board had enrolled only a few FIRs. The HC also stated that the developers sold approximately 36 lakh sq. ft of built-up area for approximately Rs 40,000 crore.