Chavan steers clear of giving out flats to poor

Will Await Report On Alleged Graft Thane: Concerned by allegations of corruption in the implementation of the centrally aided Basic Services for Urban Poor (BSUP) scheme in Kalyan-Dombivli, chief minister Prithviraj Chavan on Tuesday declined to personally hand over the keys of over 300 tenements to select beneficiaries. Instead, he called upon Kalyan-Dombivli mayor Vayjanti Gujar and municipal chief Ramnath Sonawane to do the allotments. Chavan also announced that he is waiting for a police report on the alleged scam.      Chavan attended a function organized by the Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation and visited Ambedkar Nagar where he inspected a few of the 308 tenements that are ready. But he politely distanced himself from the ceremony to allot the tenements to Dombivli slumdwellers. The CM attended the two-hour-long function, but asked Gujar and Sonawane to do the allotments.      TOI has reported on the alleged corruption in the implementation of the Rs 654-crore BSUP project that promises to provide 13,469 tenements to slumdwellers across nine pockets of Kalyan-Dombivli. A police complaint filed by RTI activist Kaustubh Gokhale, who has compiled a dossier on the project, alleges a scam to siphon off crores of rupees. The allegations include the inclusion of fictitious names in the beneficiaries' list, appointment of a private consultant to survey slums without inviting bids, and misuse of public money by civic officials and contractors. Chavan, when asked about the alleged corruption, said, "I have ordered an inquiry into the entire implementation and after the report is ready action will be initiated against the guilty." When asked whether his presence at the ceremony could lend some legitimacy to the alleged corruption, the CM said, "I didn't come here to hand over keys to the beneficiaries. I wanted to see the project and tenements for myself. The keys were handed over by the mayor and commissioner."      Police reports suggested that the CM could participate in the programme but should not hand over the keys.      Gokhale complained to the Thane police that a multi-crore racket was on and demanded that an offence be registered against civic officials and corporators. The Thane police, meanwhile, could wash their hands of the affair as they have sought permission to transfer the case to the CBI.      "I submitted evidence running into hundreds of pages on specific corrupt practices," Gokhale said. "But, they chose to sit on it. Finally, I urged them to register an offence against me for filing frivolous complaints or register a complaint against the officials. But they were unwilling to do either."      Gokhale filed a criminal writ petition in the Bombay HC asking the court to direct the police to register an offence. Additional police commissioner Milind Bharambe said, "There are no clear instructions from the government to file an FIR as yet. However,our probe is on and we will take a decision shortly."  STEALING FROM THE POOR?  COST Estimated at 654 cr The project | Build 13,469 units, ranging from 270 to 307 sq ft, for slumdwellers in 9  pockets of Kalyan-Dombivli under Basic Services for Urban Poor schemeFunding | About 50% from Centre, 20% from state, 20% from urban local body, and 10% from beneficiaries FUNDS RELEASED  CENTRAL FUNDS ASSURED  294.9 cr Released: 139.5 cr  STATE FUNDS  ASSURED  173.2 cr  Released: 81.6 cr  KDMC FUNDS  ASSURED  150.1 cr  Released: 28.3 cr      WHAT NEXT  All eyes are on the report the police will deliver to the state governmentSOME ALLEGATIONS      4 contractors were given advance funds of Rs 21.3 cr. This is Rs 16.8 cr more than they should have received      A bank guarantee collectively obtained from 3 contractors was for Rs 8.6 crore, which is lower than the advance they got      A pvt consultant was appointed without inviting bids      Projects are on private lands though no process of law was followed for acquisition. KDMC officials say this speeded up work Times View: Breaking the nexus T ime and again schemes have been created to help the poor and underprivileged, but the money doesn't reach them. The Basic Services for the Urban Poor scheme seems to be another example. Despite layers of checks —appointment of a nodal agency, technical appraisal committee, project evaluation committee and an Independent Review and Monitoring Authority—the politician-bureaucrat-contractor nexus is once again accused of graft. The time has come to take strict action against corruption at the local level and do a rethink on contractor-driven schemes. If money is disbursed directly to the intended recipient, it could help stymie the corrupt.