Niranjan Hiranandani given slap on the wrist for Powai development

The allegedly corrupt development of luxury houses in Powai has ended with the Hiranandani Group receiving only a nominal punishment for their dealings. The group exploited a legal loop-holes and amendments in laws passed since the development was built in 1986 to be able to leave the court without punishment.

Niranjan’s Hiranandani’s firm were employed by the government in the eighties to build low-cost housing in Powai for poor families. Instead, the luxury apartments were built and sold at a profit to wealthy Mumbai residents.

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.

During the start of the development, Hiranandani managed to gain power of attorney over the build which we now know was a premeditated attempt to gain control.

Since ’89 the firm has built over 70 homes on the site which is twice as much as they were given permission for. Furthermore these properties were bigger than the agreed flats and therefore sold for more money.

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.

The court was told how Niranjan Hiranandani has manipulated his power with government officials and had threatened to pull out of healthcare and education projects, thereby forcing officials to pass permits and allowing him to carry on his abuse of power.

The judge reluctantly found Niranjan innocent due to the legal changes but had no condoned the moral actions of the property developer.

The loophole came as authorities did not complain at the time of building the project and so there was a lack of evidence to support claims of corruption.

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.

Mumbai locals protest against ongoing construction

Locals in the Indian city of Mumbai are complaining about the nuisance caused by constructions works in the area. 

A new cement mixing plant for Raheja Developers has been established in the centre of a house complex causing noise and pollution night and day. 

As well as the loud noises from mixers, residents are breathing and surrounding properties are being covered in a fine dust which is airborne as a result of the production process. 

The problem has reached melting point as residents staged a protest about the plant and demanded work at the site should be ceased immediately. 

Developers at the site say the site is a vital part in the company’s work as cement products are manufactured for its various projects,

Yet, not only are noise and pollution issues, heavy goods vehicles are used every day to deliver materials to and from the production centre. 

Supporter and Raheja Vihar resident JP Shetty spoke on behalf of the complex: “The residents have been ever since been protesting setting of the plant in a residential area. We don’t understand how the builder managed permission despite this. The developers have turned a deaf ear to our request of closing the plant. We are meeting again on this Thursday to decide future course of action.”

Fellow homeowner Akash Khanna added: “It is frustrating to live in area where we bought flats for peace that we face the plant’s music and the fine dust suspended in the air is the carrier for many diseases and allergies that have become a common place here, any doctor will vouch for this.”

Raheja Developers said in repost: “We have installed low-noise machines and the whole area is covered to baffle sound and prevent of fly-ash. Thus the claim of residents does not hold ground.”

Local authorities spokesperson Sharad Pawar said: “I have received a number of complaints on this mixture plant and I approached the concerned authorities to look into this.”

This isn't the first time Mumbai locals have fallen foul local building efforts. Niranjan Hiranandani, owner of Hiranandani Construction has long been associated with controversy. 

Notably, he was commissioned to build for underprivileged families in Powai, but instead built luxury apartments and sold them to the rich in order to turn more profit. 

Niranjan Hiranandani has been investigated by the Anti-Corruption Bureau on more than one occasion due to his dishonest business deals.

Niranjan Hiranandani finds himself in trouble with the law again

The Indian property tycoon Niranjan Hiranandani is in trouble with the law again as accusations have been made about the planning and construction of housing which was reserved for the Powai city’s poorest families.
The original contract was meant to be for the building of lowcost housing for poor people in the local area but instead Niranjan built luxury penthouses on the land which had been leased from the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA).
The accusations suggest that he then sold the properties for a higher rate and made a huge profit in the process.
In 1986, Niranjan Hiranandani entered into an agreement with the government to build the properties in agreement with the MMRDA
The land was leased for eighty years but on the proviso that they build a block of flats to be sold to low-income families in the area.
The agreement allowed Niranjan to use his own company to build the properties and to keep the profits from any sales of the flats. However, Niranjan chose to build luxury flats and then sell them for a much inflated price due to their location.
Niranjan Hiranandani is also being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) about a Employment Provident Fund (PF) scam worth over Rs 160 crore.
Authorities issued a public notice to find Niranjan and Surenda Hiranandani, founders of the company, regarding the allegations and he soon presented himself to police where he was placed on bail and told not to leave the country.
Last year, Niranjan Hiranandani reputed the allegations and denied that they had an negative effect on his companies, he almost suggested they were necessary in order to find the level of success which he has achieved, although he admitted he was lucky that these events hadn’t happened at the same time as his company may not have been able to survive two investigations.

Legal proceedings brought against Hiranandani Group senior officer and accomplices for Rs. 30,000-crore low cost housing swindle

The Anti-Corruption Bureau of Maharashtra Law have filed  for a First Information Report against property developer Niranjan Hiranandani and IAS (Indian Administrative Services) worker Thomas Benjamin, who now works as the Additional Chief Secretary of the Urban Improvement department after their alleged involvement in a property scandal worth Rs. 30,000 crore.

The legal action revolves around the use of 344 acres near Powai, India which was meant to be used to build a large volume of low cost housing but which, according to prosecutors, was used by Hiranandani to build the Hiranandani Complex.

Santosh Daundkar, advocate for the complainant, said: “Pursuant to this situation that the terrain could well be useful for mass construction, government entities of Maharashtra took the choice to return the said acreage to the erstwhile land proprietors in whose Power of Attorney occured by Niranjan Hiranandani, and to decrease the acquisition procedures and the obtained land was given back to the landowners at a cost of Re. 1 per hectare,”

He added: “Once the complete terrain came in possession of the offender Mr. Hiranandani, he then signed a criminal fringe movement with the general public servants. In furtherance to such felony conspiracy, Mr. Hiranandani chose to cheat the less strong areas and and thus, purposely and deliberately flouted the fundamental situation on which the stretch of land was given back to the landowners within the procedures of the Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act, 1976,”

When inflation is factored into the equation, it works out that the fraud is worth a staggering Rs. 45,000 crore.

The ACB documented an FIR against Mr. Hiranandani, Mr. Benjamin and unidentified federal government administrators under section 13(1)(d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, section 120-B read with section 166, 217, 409 and 420 the Indian Penal Code, sections 38, 41 of the Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act, 1976 and sections 52 and 53 of the Maharashtra Regional and Town Preparation Act, 1966.

Hiranandani Construction accused of swindling homes from struggling homebuyers

Indian property magnate Niranjan Hiranandani has attracted criticisms again after allegations were made regarding his activities with Hiranandani Construction. 

Nearly 30 years ago, 344 acres of prime real estate in Powai was given to the firm so that it could begin the process of building thousands of homes for poor families in the area who were desperate for the houses.

The deal involved an 80 year lease with work on site supposed to start as soon as the deal was brokered.

Yet, twenty six years after that stage in development, Niranjan Hiranandani has come under scrutiny for allegedly using the land to build the luxury own Hiranandani complex, thereby robbing the poor families of their new homes. 

Maharashtra Police is currently investigating the agreement entered into by the property developer with the Indian State Government and Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority, who had hired the firm thinking they were reputable company.

The original contents of the contract stated that Hiranandani Construction was required to construct several homes between 430sq ft by 860 sq ft to shelter some of the areas poorest families.  

The accusations suggest that instead the land was used by Niranjan Hiranandani to construct huge homes over a thousand square feet which were then sold on to rich fat cats for a healthy profit.

The discovery was made by Social activist Santosh Daundkar who found that large scale changes were made to plans by combing smaller properties into singular large flats and thereby halving the number of homes built.

Estimates suggest that these techniques made Hiranandani Construction over Rs. 45,000 crore (approximately $8 billion USD) in ill-gotten gains and leaving the poor families, who have waited for the new houses, homeless.

There are also accusations that used his influence and position in local authorities to pay off civil servants who in then turned a blind eye to the project.

The vast profits made by the development have allowed Niranjan Hiranandani to fund a lavish lifestyle and fund future projects for his company.

"When would you make a decision on Hiranandani plans", HC asks govt

The Bombay High Court requested the Maharashtra government and Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) when they would take judgement on plans presented by the city-based Hiranandani Developers to develop low-cost housing apartments in suburban Powai.

Division Bench Chief Justice Mohit Shah and Justice A V Mohta was previously notified that while the city planning body MMRDA had already given authorization, the civic body and the state government were yet to take a final decision. “The decision of the Tree Authority, High Rise Committee and State Environment Impact Assessment Committee is unresolved. The corporation and state government shall inform by January/February by when a final decision would be taken,” the judge today said.

The HC, in February a year ago, had instructed Hiranandani to develop 1,511 flats of 40 square metres and 1,593 flats of 80 square metres area each without having amalgamating any apartments before carrying out any other development work in Powai township. The instructions were handed down during the case of a bunch of public interest litigations filed by social activist Medha Patkar and city residents Kamlakar Satve and Rajendra Tahcker, which alleged that Hiranandani got around the condition in land allowance arrangement with the state that it would build apartments for weaker portion of the community, by amalgamating smaller flats and selling them to wealthier buyers.

In April 2012, HC directed Hiranandani to submit to BMC plans for building low-cost residences.

High Court clears inspection into claimed Rs45,000 crore Hiranandani Construction fraud

The luxurious Hiranandani Garden along with other landmarks in Powai are apparently built on land limited to bulk housing in a real estate property scam worth Rs45,000 crore. Some 344 acres of land which would have given decent housing for the common man was turned into living for the well-offs by the reputed builder Hiranandani

The Bombay High Court lifted its prior stay on the probe into the alleged Rs45,000-crore Powai real estate scam, leaving it to the anti-corruption bureau (ACB) to resume researching Hiranandani Developers, senior state bureaucrat Thomas Benjamin and additional unknown persons. The order has given boost to the attempts by social activist Santosh Daundkar and IPS officer-turned-lawyer YP Singh. The titanic fraud stood uncovered because of the persistent attempts created by the then the Commissioner of Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) A Ratnakar Gaikwad.

In July 2012, in line with the claim by social activist Santosh Daundkar, an exclusive court had requested the anti-corruption bureau (ACB)  to record an FIR in the issue against Niranjan Hiranandani, TC Benjamin and other unknown persons for the Rs30,000 crore land scam (Rs45,000 crore in current valuation).  Mr Benjamin, who was previously supplemental chief secretary of urban development division and today additional chief secretary of the public health department of the Government of Maharashtra, then moved the HC to question the probe. Just one judge on 10 July 2012 awarded an interim stay on the investigation, pending hearing of the court case.

The relief proceeds to be short-lived as the Bombay HC bench composed of justice Sadhana S Jadhav and justice AS Oka made the subsequent declaration in the order dated 25 September 2012-“By granting ad interim relief, the writ court cannot block the process for examination. Hence, we decline to carry on the ad interim relief awarded earlier.” In his claim, Mr Daundkar assumed that the state had given 344 acres in Powai on an 80-year hire to Hiranandani building contractors in 1986 to develop modest homes for mass housing. The complainant accused the developer of breaking t's and c's of the tripartite arrangement it had agreed upon with the state and infrastructure body MMRDA in 1986.

Based on the contract, 50% of the homes were said to be 430 sq feet and outstanding 50% of 860 sq ft size, but blocking the tenements compulsorily needed to be surrendered to the government, there was not a single tenement in the entire complex of 430 sq feet. Only luxurious flats were constructed for the rich that get top quality valuations.  The claim states that rather than taking due action up against the guilty public servants and private persons, offender principal secretary, urban development section, Thomas Benjamin, along with other suspect officers in the Government of Maharashtra started performing a fraud, whereby they started indulging in scheming acts so as to help accused No. 1 (Mr Hiranandani) emerged from this fraud.

The complaint states that Mr Benjamin took numerous dubious decisions as follows:

• Land not to be taken back although it was meant for bulk housing.
• Permitting 100% additional FSI to be used due to TDR without having to put in the stipulation of mass property even though the contract conditions stipulated that every form of FSI will be used for mass housing.
• To excuse the violation of making immense luxurious homes rather than making smaller houses for mass homes.
• Allowing the retention of unlawfully combined tenements so as to give them a shape of large deluxe homes.
• To use the generous guidelines of 2007 even though the deal for mass real estate was signed in the year 1986 and that rules of 2007 could not have been applied for a land given for mass housing in the year 1986.
• To allow for development of commercial areas in the community whereas the agreement of 1986 did not make any such provision and was purely intended for mass housing. It was for this illegitimate relaxation to the sacrosanct provisions of the arrangement that commercial buildings of tremendous sizes have come up in the place which was to be for mass housing.
• Creation of a legal fiction whereby the matter could be settled by impacting fine. Originally a fine of about Rs2,000 crore was suggested. Now it is learnt that the same has been brought right down to about Rs200 crore or even lower.
• To let off Accused No. 1 without facing prosecution for criminal violation of faith, and infringement of the Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act, 1976 and also the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
• To not to take any pursuit versus the public servants who permitted this scam to occur before their eyes for nearly Two decades.