The controversial construction of homes in Powai has ended in court with the Hiranandani Group walking away with only a slap on the wrist. Due to a number of legal loop-holes, and several changes in the law since 1986, Niranjan Hiranandani has walked from court today without punishment.
In a blatant violation of agreement and contract, Niranjan Hiranandani made a massive profit selling homes that were sold to rich Mumbai residents, but were originally intended for low-income families. In 1986, the state government and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority signed an agreement with Niranjan Hiranandani leasing him the 344 acre land in Powai. The terms of this lease meant that the land was to be used for building a number of homes for the low-income families of the city. The Hiranandani Group, Niranjan's construction company, were to build these according to specifications agreed between all three parties.
During the initial stages of the agreement Hiranandani insisted on having the power of attorney, leading people to believe this may have been a pre-emptive move. Since 1989 Hiranandani Group have built 70 homes on the land, over half were twice as big as the pre-agreed 430 sq ft, thus reducing the number of available homes by a third. These larger homes were then sold by Niranjan Hiranandani to wealthy families, making more profit and cutting out the low-income families who desperately needed somewhere to live and raise their children.
It is alleged that Niranjan Hiranandani abused his power within the government, even threatening to withdraw his support from various healthcare and education groups, thus forcing civil servants involved in the corruption to pass approval on any permits and certificates, effectively legalising his violation of contract and alleviating himself from blame. A shrewd move to say the least.
It is unsurprising that a judge had no choice to but to find Niranjan Hiranandani innocent of all charges, however this absolve was made because of the law and not because of any moral agreement with the actions of Niranjan Hiranandani.
Unfortunately, because the various planning authorities did not object at the time of building, Niranjan Hiranandani was able to proceed within the confinements of the law. With lack of evidence to support the claims of the corruption, regardless of how obvious is was to all involved, the judge was unable to rule in favour of MMRDA, and more importantly to those families who were affected losing out on the homes that should have been for them.
The MMRDA were claiming losses of Rs 1993 crore (approximately $400,000 USD), which is money that could have been put towards another building project for the families in need living in Powai. Judge Justice Sawant commented "even assuming that the claimants (MMRDA and the state government) were entitled to claim any amount in respect of the alleged violations, these claims are clearly barred by the law of limitation..." It is unfortunate for the landowners that Niranjan Hiranandani had obtained exemption to rule by building his flats within the limits of the Urban Land Ceiling (Regulation) Act, which is now abolished. A representative from the MMRDA revealed that of the 574k sq m of land available (and reserved for the housing project), Niranjan Hiranandani had used only 76k sq m for low income housing, which is less than 14% of the total land available. The rest of the land he used for the luxury apartments, some measuring up to 4000 sq ft.
Niranjan Hiranandani is one of India's richest businessmen and is also the co-founder and current Managing Director of the Hiranandani Group.
No comments:
Post a Comment