Delhi Govt Reopens Corruption Case of DPS CGHS Dwarka
Delhi Govt Reopens Corruption Case of DPS CGHS Dwarka
Corruption Case of DPS Cooperative Group Housing Society (DPS CGHS), Plot No. 16, Sector 4, Dwarka, New Delhi 110 078
While the current case is about the supersession or termination of DPS CGHS MC, the final objective of the case is to get the culprits jailed – at least for a few years.
January 11, 2019
By Rakesh Raman
There is no denying that today DPS CGHS is among the most corrupt group housing societies of Delhi. While the DPS CGHS managing committee (MC) members are facing multiple government inquiries in cases of misappropriation of public funds, cheating, fraud, labour rights violations, bribery, illegal parking, and so on, now the Delhi Government has reopened a corruption case of DPS CGHS.
Although this case had been hanging fire for almost a year, the Office of the Registrar Cooperative Societies (RCS) of Delhi Government scheduled a new hearing in this case last month – on 18.12.2018 – in the RCS court. The next hearing is expected in February 2019.
The legal case was filed by eight Society members for the supersession (termination) of DPS CGHS MC under Section 37 of the Delhi Cooperative Societies (DCS) Act.
After studying the case, the RCS office found in its preliminary inspection that this is a serious case of misappropriation of funds or financial irregularities committed by the DPS CGHS MC members.
In its notice to DPS CGHS MC, the RCS office states that:
“The matter was examined by this (RCS) office and it was observed that inspection of records of the society is necessary to be carried out to bring out the factual truth of the matter.”
However, before starting the supersession proceedings, the RCS office had ordered an inspection on January 25, 2018 under Section 61 of the DCS Act, 2003 to investigate the extent of “financial and other irregularities” at DPS CGHS.
The RCS office had also appointed an inspection officer to hold the inspection of DPS CGHS financial records in this case. While DPS CGHS MC members know that they have committed many financial and other crimes, they wrongfully obstructed the financial inspection ordered by the RCS office and refused to show their records.
As DPS CGHS MC members want to hide their criminality, they also did not provide information that I had recently asked in my RTI application. The information that I had tried to get through RTI relates to extreme corruption and irregular activities at DPS CGHS. You can click here to read the RTI details. You will easily find from the RTI application that massive corruption has been happening at DPS CGHS.
If the DPS CGHS MC members are honest, they should have allowed the RCS inspection to take place without any obstruction and given me the information that I had demanded in my RTI application. You can easily see that since they want to hide the official information, they have committed many crimes.
Admission of Guilt
More importantly, the DPS CGHS MC members have themselves admitted in multiple official documents that extreme corruption has been happening in the Society. This is manifested in the RTI application stated above. That’s why the MC members are refusing to show the official records to RCS office as well as the Society members.
The current DPS CGHS MC members – President: Neeraj Kumar Vaish, Vice President: R. Balasubramanian, Secretary: M.N. Sampathkumar, Member: Ms. Leela Swami, Member: Sandeep Taneja, Member: Manguram Tyagi, and Member: Ms. Naseem Afshaque – are involved in multiple cases of financial and other irregularities.
These irregularities include expenses worth lakhs of rupees without following prescribed financial procedures, fraud in tendering processes, corruption in illegal car parking, money extortion from members for frivolous construction / repairs projects, illegal permission to allow private companies to set up their infrastructure in the Society building, spending Society funds to defend their own ongoing criminal acts in labour courts for labour rights violations committed by these MC members, and so on.
The RCS office examined the initial information given to it while filing the supersession case under Section 37 of the Delhi Cooperative Societies (DCS) Act and found that there is a prima facie case of misappropriation of Society funds and other irregularities being committed by the DPS CGHS MC members.
That means the RCS office ordered the inspection only after examining the initial details of financial and other irregularities at DPS CGHS. But the accused MC members are defying the RCS order on flimsy grounds. Now, it is also learnt that these accused MC members are trying to wrongfully influence or intimidate the petitioners who have filed the supersession case against them so that they should withdraw their names from the case.
If some of the petitioners succumbed under the threats from MC members, those petitioners will have to appear as “hostile witnesses / petitioners” in the court(s) and face the legal consequences. They must know that a petitioner can be prosecuted for turning hostile to protect the accused.
Since the accused MC members are believed to be tampering with the official records and threatening the petitioners and key witnesses, the petitioners have urged the RCS office to immediately dissolve the DPS CGHS MC and appoint an administrator to run the Society affairs.
The petitioners also argue that since this is a case of white-collar crime, only the circumstantial evidence in terms of non-compliance of different financial and other statutes by the DPS CGHS MC should be enough to prosecute and catch the culprits and their accomplices.
And there are plenty of evidences in the official documents of DPS CGHS that show extreme corruption has been happening in the Society.
FAR Construction Fraud at DPS CGHS
While they are already facing corruption inquiries ordered by the government, the DPS CGHS members are shamelessly contriving new ways to extort public money. Now, for example, the MC members are planning to undertake a massive construction / repairs project with an estimated cost of Rs. 15 crore.
The MC members are forcing the Society members to pay over Rs. 2 lakh as the first installment of a floor area ratio (FAR) construction / repairs project in the Society building, while many members are not in favour of this construction which will spread massive dust / noise pollution and disturbance in the building.
It is learnt that a few days ago on 28.12.2018, the DPS CGHS residents / members – who oppose FAR construction – met the Director (Building) of DDA and submitted a representation signed by more than a dozen members with the request to stop the FAR construction / repairs planned by the MC.
While many members are not in favour of FAR construction, the DPS CGHS MC members have given false information in DDA (Delhi Development Authority) to get FAR construction approval using unfair means. For example, the MC members have deposited money for all the members with DDA to falsely give the impression that all the members are in favour of FAR construction.
Similarly, the MC members have deliberately given wrong information (related to, say, ventilation, turning radius for fire tender, flaws in staircase, use of common areas, overall structural design, etc.) in its drawings to get FAR approval from DDA and also from Delhi Fire Service (DFS) and Delhi Urban Art Commission (DUAC). These are “Non Compoundable Offences” (or serious offences) which can result in the imprisonment of the offenders.
Misleading Information to DDA
The Director (Building) of DDA informed the complainants that DDA has given the FAR approval on the basis of the undertaking given by the DPS CGHS MC members, and if at any stage it is found that the MC has given wrong or misleading information, DDA will take action against the MC with a view to cancel the DDA approval. It will also lead to demolition of the constructed structure and penalty to offenders (MC members / Society members who paid for FAR construction).
The Director (Building) of DDA further said that since the DPS CGHS MC members have deposited money for all the members, DDA assumes that the FAR extension will happen for all the flats.
But since DPS CGHS MC members assert that FAR extension is optional for members, obviously it cannot happen for all the flats as DDA assumes because many members have refused to accept FAR extension.
The Director (Building) of DDA said that if DDA found that FAR is not happening uniformly for all the flats, it will take punitive action against the MC. In other words, the consent of all the members (100% consent) is required for FAR extension. But the DPS CGHS MC members are deceptively hiding this fact from Society members in order to extort money from them.
As this is a case of extreme corruption, the Office of the Chief Vigilance Officer (CVO) of DDA through its letter dated 28.11.2018 under directions from Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) has asked the Director (Building) of DDA to investigate the DPS CGHS corruption case and how the FAR approval was given to DPS CGHS.
Unlawful FAR Construction
As FAR construction spreads dust and noise pollution and thus deprives citizens of their fundamental right to clean living, it is illegal because it violates Article 21 of the Indian Constitution. FAR construction also breaks a number of other laws such as the Unified Building Bye Laws (UBBL), the Delhi Apartment Ownership Act, Delhi Fire Service Rules, National Building Code, and many other regulations.
Since Article 21 of the Indian Constitution is about the fundamental right of every citizen, its violation is a crime even when the majority of members in a housing society opt for FAR construction. Therefore, the majority argument is invalid and meaningless in this case.
In an ongoing case of R. D. Apartments in Dwarka, the Delhi High Court has stopped FAR construction because of its harmful pollution and violation of many other laws, although majority of the members were in favour of FAR. You can check out Case No. W.P.(C) 286/2018 on Delhi High Court website.
Similarly, the members of Chandanwari CGHS, Sector-10, Dwarka have filed a court case against FAR construction in their society and currently FAR project is stopped at Chandanwari CGHS. As FAR activity is unlawful, members of many other societies are planning to file their cases in court.
If FAR construction is happening in some of the societies, it is happening because the members do not oppose FAR aggressively and methodically. As most opposing members are weak, scared, and ignorant, they succumb to the threats of criminal MC members and reluctantly allow illegal FAR construction to happen.
You must know that FAR construction in occupied housing societies is totally illegal because it spreads dust and noise pollution and further increases air pollution. Currently, the air in Delhi has an annual average of 122 µg/m3 of PM2.5* particles [ *PM 2.5 concentrations measured in micrograms of particles per cubic meter of air (µg/m3) ]. That’s 12.2 times of the WHO safe level. This is an extremely dangerous level of pollution and besides other pollution-control measures the government regularly bans construction activity.
When the ban on construction is lifted for a few days, only essential construction (such as construction of hospitals, schools, roads, bridges, etc.) is allowed. The ban from avoidable construction such as FAR construction in occupied housing societies and house renovations can never be lifted because air is dangerously polluted in Delhi throughout the year.
If you want to get any such construction stopped, you can complain to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), which is a statutory organization of the Government of India. CPCB also allows you to complain through its social media accounts and the Sameer App.
Deceptive Linking of Construction with Repairs at DPS CGHS
The DPS CGHS MC members have fraudulently linked FAR construction with building repairs so that the members who do not opt for FAR should pay for repairs. And the corrupt MC members are demanding exorbitant money from each member for building repairs.
The truth is that the FAR construction along with repairs should cost around Rs. 2 lakh per member. But the DPS CGHS MC members are demanding about Rs. 5 lakh per member for repairs only and more than Rs. 10 lakh for FAR construction along with repairs. This is a blatant case of corruption in which corruption worth crores of rupees will happen if construction / repairs are allowed.
The corrupt MC members get such shady decisions approved in fraudulently conducted General Body Meetings (GBMs) where the voting members are bribed or lured with various illegal incentives such as illegal car parking, polluted renovation / repairs in flats, illegal alterations in individual flats, lavish late-night drink parties, and even cash kickbacks (see RTI application for details).
The MC members are expected to swindle crores of rupees in this construction / repairs work even if many members refuse to accept FAR extension, because the MC is imposing expensive repairs on each member. The MC is also applying arm-twisting tactics to extort money from the members by saying it will impose 18% annual interest on members who will not pay for FAR construction / repairs.
It is pertinent to state that four accused MC members – R. Balasubramanian, Neeraj Kumar Vaish, Sandeep Taneja, and Leela Swami – who are in the current MC that is again pursuing the FAR construction / repairs project – are already facing an inquiry for an earlier dubious repairs project in DPS CGHS. The Directorate of Vigilance (DOV) of Delhi Government – under the direction of Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) – has ordered the inquiry through the RCS office.
It shows that the DPS CGHS is under a perpetual control of habitual fraudsters. Instead of working honestly for the welfare of the Society and its members, their eyes are always on making easy money by committing frauds. Although they claim that their balance sheets are clean, these account books never reveal the true financial picture and can easily be fudged.
In DPS CGHS case, the total corruption money involved is crores of rupees while the names of more than 20 persons (including the past MC members and internal / external accomplices) who are involved in corrupt practices appear in the Society documents.
Obviously, this swindled money needs to be recovered from the culprits. As the court decisions in India get inordinately delayed, if something fateful happened to the accused MC members during the intervening period, their inheritors (such as sons, daughters, close relatives, etc.) must face the legal consequences and penalties.
While the current case is about the supersession of DPS CGHS MC, the final objective of the case is to get the culprits (DPS CGHS MC members and their accomplices) jailed – at least for a few years.
If such anti-social elements are allowed to move freely in public, they can pose a serious threat to the peace and tranquility in the society. Their arrest and imprisonment, therefore, is essential to maintain public order.
You can click the following weblink to study the details of corruption and illegal activities at DPS CGHS.
[ Humanitarian Crisis Persists at DPS Housing Society in Delhi ]
Weblink: http://www.ramanmedianetwork.com/humanitarian-crisis-persists-at-dps-housing-society-in-delhi/
By Rakesh Raman, who is a national award-winning journalist and social activist. He is the founder of a humanitarian organization RMN Foundation which is working in diverse areas to help the disadvantaged and distressed people in the society.
About Rakesh Raman
Rakesh Raman is a national award-winning journalist and social activist. Besides working at senior editorial positions with leading media companies, he was writing an exclusive edit-page column regularly for The Financial Express (a daily business newspaper of The Indian Express Group).
Nowadays, for the past about 8 years, he has been running his own global news services on different subjects. He also has formed a free Education and Career Counselling Center for deserving children at a poor J.J. Colony in Dwarka, New Delhi under his NGO – RMN Foundation.
He runs an exclusive community-driven anti-corruption social service “Clean House” to help the suffering residents of Delhi raise their voice against the growing corruption and injustice. He also has formed an environment-protection group called Green Group in Delhi.
He also creates and distributes a number of digital publications that cover areas such as technology, law, environment, education, corruption and transparency. These publications include The Integrity Bulletin that covers international corruption news and issues.
He has created a comprehensive online information service to educate the Indian voters for the upcoming Lok Sabha election scheduled to happen in 2019.
Earlier, he had been associated with the United Nations (UN) through United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) as a digital media expert to help businesses use technology for brand marketing and business development.
Contact
Rakesh Raman
463, DPS Apts., Plot No. 16, Sector 4
Dwarka, Phase I, New Delhi 110 078
INDIA
You may please contact me on my email.
