>MPGuy2824 at 05:33, 6 July 2021

2021-07-06T05:33:38Z

New page

{{short description|Financial scam in Jalgaon district of India}}

{{Infobox legal case
|name=Jalgaon Housing Scam
|court=District Court of [[Dhule]] and [[Jalgaon]]<ref name="Maharashtra Times">{{Cite news|work=Maharashtra Times|url=https://maharashtratimes.com/maharashtra/jalgaon-news/suresh-jain-sentence-7-year-jail-term-in-jalgaon-gharkul-scam/articleshow/70924312.cms|title=घरकुल घोटाळा: जैन यांना ७ तर देवकर यांना ५ वर्षाचा कारावास (English: Suresh Jain Sentence 7 Year Jail Term in Jalgaon Gharkul scam)|date=31 August 2019|language=mr|access-date=28 February 2021}}</ref>
|image=File:Jalgaon City Municipal Corporation Building.jpg
|imagelink=[Jalgaon Municipal Corporation
|caption=Headquarters of [[Jalgaon Municipal Corporation]]
|citations=
|keywords=
|date decided=31 August 2019<ref name="Hindustan Times1"/>
|opinions=
|subsequent_actions=}}

The '''Jalgaon housing scam''', sometimes called the '''Jalgaon Gharkul scam''' ([[Marathi language|Marathi]]: '''जळगाव घरकुल घोटाळा'''), refers to a financial scam that took place in the city of [[Jalgaon]] in Maharashtra, India, involving the illicit diverting of approximately {{INR}}110 [[crore]] in loaned public municipal funds, that were earmarked for a 1996-initiated project for the building of over 11,000 units of subsidized housing to benefit the area's rural poor population, and to reduce the prevalence of slums.<ref name="Hindustan Times1">{{Cite news|author=| date=21 May 2012|title=NCP minister arrested in Jalgaon housing scam|work=Hindustan Times|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/mumbai/ncp-minister-arrested-in-jalgaon-housing-scam/story-OWJaVYGlK0zhC7LqTfY9JO.html|access-date=28 February 2021}}</ref> The incident is considered the largest known scam in the history of [[North Maharashtra]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Rs 1.6 Crore Fine Slammed On 56 Jalgaon Municipal Corporators|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcHmlyqzjWw&feature=youtu.be|access-date=2 March 2021|website=YouTube.com|publisher=Times Now}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|date=31 August 2019|title=घरकुल घोटाळा प्रकरण: सुरेश जैन यांच्यासह सर्व आरोपी दोषी (English: Suresh Jain Gulabrao Devkar and 46 Accused Proved Guilty in Gharkul Scam)|language=mr-IN|work=[[Loksatta]]|url=https://www.loksatta.com/maharashtra-news/suresh-jain-gulabrao-devkar-and-46-accused-proved-guilty-in-gharkul-scam-scj-81-2-1961284/|access-date=3 March 2021}}</ref>

The scam was discovered and exposed by then Municipal commissioner of [[Jalgaon]], [[Praveen Gedam|Pravin Gedam]], who filed a police complaint against Khandesh Builders with respect to the irregularities he saw after that company was awarded the housing contract.<ref name="Economic Times1" /><ref>{{Cite web|last1=Balajiwale|first1=Vaishali|date=3 November 2012|title=MLA Suresh Jain arrested in housing scam|url=https://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report-mla-suresh-jain-arrested-in-housing-scam-1660949|access-date=2 March 2021|website=DNA India}}</ref> The main accused in the case were [[Shiv Sena|Shivsena]] minister, [[Suresh Jain]], and [[Member of the Legislative Assembly (India)|Legislative Assembly]] member, [[Gulabrao Devkar]].<ref name="Indian Express1">{{Cite news|last1=Kher|first1=Swatee|date=23 May 2012|title=Loans taken for cheap homes, 'diverted to front company'|work=The Indian Express|url=http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/loans-taken-for-cheap-homes--diverted-to-front-company-/952586/|access-date=2 March 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=11 March 2012|title=Shiv Sena MLA arrested in Jalgaon Gharkul scam|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVrSokelGJg|access-date=2 March 2021|work=[[NewsX]]}}</ref> Following a seven-year investigation by Jalgaon police, Jain and 47 other participants in the fraud were convicted of a variety of criminal charges.<ref name="Hindustan Times2">{{Cite web|date=19 June 2012|title=Jalgaon housing scam: State govt yet to grant sanction to hold trial|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/mumbai/jalgaon-housing-scam-state-govt-yet-to-grant-sanction-to-hold-trial/story-yC6snpqueShCl7fmGtOtLK.html|access-date=28 February 2021|website=Hindustan Times}}</ref>

== History ==
From 1995 to 1996, a government benefits plan was conceived and rolled out, dubbed the "Pradhanmantri Awas Yojana - Gramin ({{literally|Prime minister housing scheme}})" (PMAY-G), or "Gharkul Scheme" (a local implementation of India's larger [[Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana]]), aiming to build over 11,000 units of subsidized housing for rural poor families fitting within India's designation of [[Below Poverty Line]] status. Many of the poor falling within the project's scope and criteria for benefits, were noted to reside in rudimentary structures, made of clay or grass, often without proper sanitation.<ref name="Maharashtra.gov">{{Cite web|date=4 January 2021|title=Prime minister housing scheme-Gramin|url=https://rdd.maharashtra.gov.in/en/pradhan-mantri-awas-yojana-rural|access-date=2 March 2021|website=Maharashtra.gov.in|publisher=Rural Development & Panchayat Raj Department, Government of Maharashtra, India}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Melles|first1=Gavin|journal=Social Sciences|volume=7|issue=247|date=November 2018|title=Sustainable Community Development or Voluntourism: Sustainable Housing in Rural Maharashtra|page=247|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/329194744|doi=10.3390/socsci7120247|doi-access=free}}</ref> The housing project, administered by the [[Jalgaon Municipal Corporation]] (JMC), aimed to reduce slums by providing affordable housing in the Jalgaon City outskirt neighborhoods of Tambapura, Samatanagar, Khanderaonagar and Shree Hari Vitthalnagar.<ref name="BBC News1">{{Cite news|title=घरकुल घोटाळा प्रकरण: सुरेश जैन यांना सात वर्षांचा कारावास (English: Gharkul scam: Suresh Jain sentenced to 7 years imprisonment while Gulabrao Deokar sentenced to 5 years)|language=mr|work=BBC News मराठी|url=https://www.bbc.com/marathi/india-49536359|access-date=2021-03-03|date=31 August 2019}}</ref>

As part of implementing the housing plan, to be constructed across seven area [[Ward (electoral subdivision)|wards]], in 1997 JMC put out an [[invitation to tender]], seeking to award parts of the building contract to construction firms. The building of the subsidized homes was supposed to begin in 1999.<ref name="ABP News1">{{Cite news|work=[[ABP News]]|last=धुळे|first=संजय सोनवणे, एबीपी माझा|date=31 August 2019|title=जळगाव घरकुल घोटाळा, गुलाबराव देवकर, सुरेश जैन यांच्यासह सर्व आरोपी दोषी (English: All the accused including Jalgaon Gharkul scam, Gulabrao Deokar, Suresh Jain are guilty)|url=https://marathi.abplive.com/news/maharashtra/jalgaon-gharkul-scam-case-result-may-announce-today-by-dhule-district-court-695113|access-date=3 March 2021|language=mr}}</ref> Although 11 builders filed applications to participate in the building project, covering "11,424 low budget houses for rehabilitation of slum dwellers"<ref name="Times of India2">{{Cite news|work=The Times of India|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/sc-breather-to-maharashtra-minister-gulabrao-baburao-deokar-in-jalgaon-housing-scam/articleshow/15396145.cms|title=SC breather to Maharashtra minister Gulabrao Baburao Deokar in Jalgaon housing scam |date=8 August 2012|access-date=2 March 2021}}</ref> JMC, with Suresh Jain controlling it, ignored applicable rules and regulations governing the bidding and award process, and funneled the housing contract to Khandesh Builders.<ref name="Times of India2"/>

Khandesh Builders thereafter took out a loan of 110 [[crore]] [[Indian rupee|rupees]] from India's [[Housing and Urban Development Corporation|Housing and Urban Development Corporation LTD]] (HUDC). The municipal corporation of Jalgaon gave 11.54 crore rupees to Khandesh Builders without any interest. Despite the passage of multiple years, they failed to build any houses. The plots designated for the construction did not belong to Jalgaon corporation, but were private and government owned.<ref name="Economic Times1">{{Cite news|title=Two former Maharashtra ministers convicted in Rs 110-crore Jalgaon housing scam case|author=ET Bureau|url=https://m.economictimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/two-former-maharashtra-ministers-convicted-in-rs-110-crore-jalgaon-housing-scam-case/amp_articleshow/70924125.cms|access-date=28 February 2021|work=The Economic Times|date=31 August 2019}}</ref>

From the beginning, the scheme had many irregularities. When the project went unfinished by the projected completion date, JMC gave the builders many extensions of the initial deadline. In the end, Khandesh Builders only completed fifteen hundred houses, out of the five thousand they were engaged to construct.<ref name="Economic Times1"/>

In 2006, Jalgaon's then [[Indian Administrative Service|IAS]] Officer Pravin Gedam filed a [[first information report]] (FIR) for irregularities seen in the housing project, submitting with it forged documents and criminal conspiracy allegations against Khandesh Builders and 91 others, including Suresh Jain, who had served as Shivsena Minister from 1995 to 1999, and [[Gulabrao Devkar]], who at the time the charges were files, was a member of the [[Maharashtra Legislative Assembly]].<ref name="Indian Express1"/><ref name="Indian Express2">{{Cite news|title=Maharashtra ex-ministers, 46 others sentenced in multi-crore housing scam|agency=Express News Service|work=The Indian Express|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/india/maharashtra-ex-ministers-46-others-sentenced-in-multi-crore-housing-scam-suresh-jain-gulabrao-deokar-5954818/|access-date=2 March 2021|date=1 September 2019}}</ref>

== Investigation ==
Following Gedam's initial complaint, Jalgaon police began an investigation into the allegations of corruption. They discovered that Suresh Jain, Gulabrao Devkar, and other key personnel at Khandesh Builders were involved in criminal activities related to the housing project scam, all of whom were ultimately booked on charges. JMC gave 46 Cr. to various contractor as advanced payment.<ref name="Indian Express1"/> A variety of preferential concessions were seen in JMC's treament of Khandesh Builders, not the least of which was the fact that JMC took no action whatever against the contractor despite the passage of five years without it beginning the actual construction.<ref name="BBC News1"/> The investigation into the fraud took seven years to complete. Its findings included that payments made to Khandesh Builders were improperly diverted to other companies owned and controlled by Suresh Jain and his family.<ref name="Economic Times1"/><ref name="Hindustan Times2"/>

The Jalgaon district court ultimately convicted Gulabrao Devkar and Suresh Jain for their participation in the housing scam, finding that as a result, the public had been bilked of about 110 crore rupees ($14,996,693.80 US as of Feb 2021, as adjust for inflation).<ref name="Economic Times1"/><ref name="Hindustan Times2"/> Devkar was chairman of construction committee and was among the members designated to monitor the construction and progress of the project.<ref name="Indian Express1"/> Police further found that Khandesh Builders was owned by Jain's two friends, Jagannath Wani and Raju Mayur. The money received by the company from JMC was transferred to two companies owned by Jain's relatives. The investigators further found that Khandesh Builders' headquarters was in fact Jain's own residence. 53 individuals were formally charged during the course of the case, including insiders of JMC.<ref name="The Hindu1">{{Cite news|author=|date=22 May 2012|title=Maharashtra Minister held for Jalgaon housing scam|work=The Hindu|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/maharashtra-minister-held-for-jalgaon-housing-scam/article3443424.ece|access-date=3 January 2021|issn=0971-751X}}</ref> (Three of the accused died prior to the end of the trial.<ref name="ABP News1"/>) Jain – who was a sitting [[Member of the Legislative Assembly (India)|Member of the Legislative Assembly]] of [[Shiv Sena|Shivsena]] at the time of the events – was found to be the lead conspirator.<ref name="The Hindu1"/>

Although the polices investigation team was headed by IPS Officer Ishu Sindhu,<ref name="News18">{{Cite news|first1=Ahona|last1=Sengupta|date=1 September 2019|title='Perfect' Chargesheet Helped Nail Suresh Jain, Others: IPS Officer Who Probed Maharashtra Housing Scam|url=https://www.news18.com/news/india/perfect-chargesheet-helped-nail-suresh-jain-others-ips-officer-who-probed-maharashtra-housing-scam-2292693.html|access-date=3 January 2021|work=News18}}</ref> three separate commissions were formed to probe into the details of the fraud. Senior social activist [[Anna Hazare]] made various additional allegations against Jain and Devkar.<ref name="Times Now1">{{Cite news|work=Times Now News|date=31 August 2019|title=घरकुल घोटाळाः सुरेश जैन यांना सात तर गुलाबराव देवकरांना ५ वर्षांची शिक्षा (English: Gharkul scam: Suresh Jain Sentenced to Seven Years and Gulabrao Devkar to Five Years)|url=https://www.timesnowmarathi.com/maharashtra-news/jalgaon-news/article/jalgaon-gharkul-scam-case-gulabrao-devkar-suresh-jain-dhule-district-court/259179|access-date=3 March 2021|language=mr|first1=पूजा|last1=विचारे}}</ref> Lead investigator, Sindhu said "we worked relentlessly on this case's probe and filed a water tight chargesheet". The investigation further uncovered the fact that Jain had illicitly favoured his friends in awarding the building contract to Khandesh Builders.<ref name="News18"/> Reportedly, the accused – including former minister Jain, and Devkar, who not only had formerly headed JMC, but during the investigation, held the powerful position of Urban Transport Minister of Maharashtra – used their political sway to delay the investigation for six years (the first arrest did not occur until 2008), such as by influencing the transfer of certain participating officers, and having others deliberately drag their feet at completing aspects of the inquiry.<ref name="Zeenews">{{Cite news|date=31 August 2019|url=https://zeenews.india.com/marathi/maharashtra/jalgaon-gharkul-ghotala-suresh-jain-convicted-with-48-other-accused/486749|language=mr|title=जळगाव घरकुल घोटाळ्यात सुरेश जैन यांच्यासह ४८ जण दोषी (English: Jalgaon Gharkul Ghotala Suresh Jain Convicted With 48 Other Accused)|access-date=2 March 2021|work=Zee News}}</ref><ref name="BBC News1"/>
== Arrests and convictions ==
As a result of the investigation, prominently, Suresh Jain and [[Nationalist Congress Party]] politician and minister of Maharashtra, Gulabrao Devkar were arrested by Jalgaon police. Devkar was a member of the municipal corporation from 1995 to 2000, and was its president for brief period.<ref name="The Hindu1"/> He was charged under sections 109, 120(b), 177, 406, 409 and [[Section 420 of the Indian Penal Code|420]] of the [[Indian Penal Code]], and sections 13(d) and 13(ii) of India's [[Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988|Prevention of Corruption Act]]. A special PCA court remanded him into police custody. He was later released on bail on a bond of 50,000 rupees ($682.05 US), on condition that he would not leave the country.<ref name="The Hindu1"/>

Interim bail issued to the arrestees. In 2012, Jain was arrested again. Although multiple applications for bail were thereafter filed by him, each was rejected by the court, and he remained jailed until sentencing. In late 2019, special judge Srushti Neelkant of the Jalgaon district court in [[Dhule]] convicted Jain of the charges, sentenced him to a seven-year prison term, and fined him 100 crore rupees (approx. $13,641,000 US).<ref>{{Cite web|date=5 May 2016|title=Anna Hazare withdraws defamation case against ex-Maharashtra minister Suresh Jain|url=https://www.india.com/news/india/anna-hazare-withdraws-defamation-case-against-ex-maharashtra-minister-suresh-jain-1162794/|access-date=3 January 2021|author=Press Trust of India|website=India.com}}</ref><ref name="Indian Express2"/>

Two other individuals, Rajendra Mayur and Jagannath Vani, who were owners of Khandesh Builders, also received seven-year prison terms and 40 Cr. rupee fines. Devkar, [[Chandrakant Sonawane]], then a Shivsena MLA each received five-year prison sentences, as did Pradip Raisoni, who was fined 10 [[Lakh]] rupee. 30 JMC members also received five year sentences, and others, three year terms, out of the total 48 convictions. Accused, Vijay Kolhe, who testified as an [[Eyewitness testimony|eyewitness]] in the case, was released by the court without sentence or fine.<ref name="Economic Times1"/><ref name="Indian Express2"/><ref name="Times Now1"/> One of the accused in the case remains at large.<ref name="Times Now1"/> [[Indian Police Service]] officer, Ishu Sindhu, stated that "The conviction in the case is a big success for the efforts of the policemen, who worked relentlessly during the probe and prepared the documents".<ref name="News18"/>
== Aftermath ==
Following his indictment, India's [[Nationalist Congress Party]] expelled Gulabrao Devkar. The Bombay High Court rejected his request for bail. Devkar further resigned from his posting as Urban Transport minister of Maharashtra.<ref>{{Cite news|title=NCP ousts scam-tainted Maharashtra Minister|work=The Hindu|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/ncp-ousts-scamtainted-maharashtra-minister/article3735452.ece|date=7 August 2012|access-date=3 January 2021|issn=0971-751X|author=}}</ref> Devkar was released in 2019, after serving three years of his sentence. In 2014, while still imprisoned, fellow conspirators, Devkar and Jain, each unsuccessfully ran for office in that year's [[2014 Maharashtra assembly elections|Maharashtra assembly election]]. Devkar was again unsuccessful when he ran for office in India's [[2019 Indian general election|2019 general election]].<ref name="BBC News1"/> Following the convictions Jain appealed to the [[Mumbai High Court]] for release despite his sentence on Medical grounds, and was granted a three-week interim bail release.<ref>{{Cite news|work=[[Lokmat]]|date=20 November 2019|title=जळगाव घरकुल घोटाळा : सुरेश जैन यांना हायकोर्टाने मंजूर केला तात्पुरता जामीन (English: Jalgaon Gharkul scam: High court grants interim bail to Suresh Jain)|url=https://www.lokmat.com/crime/jalgaon-gharkul-scam-suresh-jain-granted-temporary-bail-high-court/|access-date=3 March 2021|language=mr-IN}}</ref> As of 2019, Jain remains a member of the Shiva Sena party.<ref>{{Cite news|work=[[Aaj Tak]] Hindi News|title=महाराष्ट्रः घरकुल आवास घोटाले में पूर्व मंत्री समेत 48 पर लगा 183 करोड़ का जुर्माना (English: Fine Imposed on 48 Including Former Minister in Household Housing Scam)|url=https://www.aajtak.in/india/maharashtra/story/gharkul-scam-case-suresh-jain-gulab-devkar-dhulia-court-958060-2019-08-31|access-date=3 March 2021|language=hi|date=31 August 2019}}</ref> A number of the other convicts took appeals to the Mumbai High Court; the Government of Maharashtra appointed lawyer Amol Savant to represent the government.<ref>{{Cite news|date=10 September 2019|title=Anna Hazare objects to spl prosecutor in Jalgaon scam|url=https://www.deccanherald.com/national/west/anna-hazare-objects-to-spl-prosecutor-in-jalgaon-scam-760439.html|access-date=3 March 2021|work=[[Deccan Herald]]|author=Press Trust of India, Ahmednagar}}</ref>

As of 2021, Devkar is a member member of India's Nationalist Congress Party; has a significant public following and support, despite his conviction in the housing scam,<ref>{{Cite news|work=[[Lokmat]]|date=21 January 2021|title=माजी मंत्री गुलाबराव देवकर यांचा वाढदिवस उत्साहात साजरा (English: Former Minister Gulabrao Devkar Birthday Enthusiastically Celebrated)|url=https://www.lokmat.com/jalgaon/former-minister-gulabrao-deokars-birthday-celebrated-enthusiasm-a688/|access-date=4 March 2021|language=mr-IN}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|work=News 18 [[Lokmat]]|title=जळगावमध्ये भाजपच्या अडचणी वाढल्या, स्मिता वाघ यांनी घेतली राष्ट्रवादीच्या उमेदवारीची भेट (English: BJP's problems increased in Jalgaon, Smita Wagh visited NCP's candidate, Gulabrao Devkar|url=https://lokmat.news18.com/maharashtra/maharashtra-lok-sabha-election-2019-bjp-mla-smita-wagh-meets-ncp-candidate-gulabrao-devkar-as-359721.html|access-date=2021-03-04|date=7 April 2019}}</ref> and is considered one of the most powerful NCP politician in the North Maharashtra region.<ref>{{Cite news|work=[[Lokmat]]|date=26 March 2018|title=जळगाव मनपा निवडणुकीसाठी कामाला लागा : माजी मंत्री गुलाबराव देवकर (English: Work for Jalgaon Municipal Corporation; Former Minister Gulabrao Devkar|url=https://www.lokmat.com/jalgaon/work-jalgaon-municipal-elections-former-minister-gulabrao-deokar/|access-date=4 March 2021|language=mr-IN}}</ref>

According to investigators into the Jalgaon housing scam, JMC suffered aggregate losses of 150 crore rupees, which it had to repay to HUDCO on defaulting loan terms.<ref name="Indian Express1"/> As to the indigent people of Jalgaon, they were denied the majority of the intended benefit of the housing project started in 1996; only 1,500 of the 11,000 units of subsidized housing projected were ever completed.<ref name="Times of India1">{{Cite news|work=The Times of India|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/maharashtra-housing-scam-7-years-jail-rs-100-crore-fine-for-former-minister-suresh-jain/articleshow/70925280.cms|title=Maharashtra housing scam: 7 years jail, Rs 100 crore fine for former minister Suresh Jain|date=31 August 2019|access-date=2 March 2021}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Jalgaon]]
[[Category:Scandals in India]]
[[Category:Jalgaon district]]
[[Category:Corruption in India]]
[[Category:Political corruption in India]]
[[Category:Crime in India]]
[[Category:Maharashtra articles missing geocoordinate data]]

Jalgaon housing scam - Revision history

>MPGuy2824 at 05:33, 6 July 2021