Ex-legislator alleges housing scam in Madhya Pradesh

BHOPAL - Former Madhya Pradesh lawmaker and Congress leader Prakash Raghuwansi Sunday alleged a scam in a scheme for allotting flats to MPs and legislators in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled state.

Sharing documents with reporters, he said under the scheme houses were mostly allotted to BJP leaders.

The Congress leader, who has moved the Madhya Pradesh High Court over the issue, alleged that during registration, the authorities favoured some national and state level leaders of the BJP, including Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj, former chief minister Kailash Joshi and state president Prabhat Jha.

Raghuwansi, a Congress legislator 1985-90, said at a press conference that the scam took place in two phases.

He himself had applied for a flat but was denied one. “I also applied and submitted a cheque of Rs.2 lakh besides the registration charges on September 15, 2003,” he said.

“But finally, along with three others, I was not allotted a house,” he said.

For the first phase, in 2002, the home construction division of the government had taken a decision to build apartments for members of the state assembly and MPs at Riviera Town, Bhopal. Former legislators were to be considered for allotment in the event of less number of applications.

For the second phase, the home construction division had not got land yet but a decision has already been taken to give flats to MPs, including Swaraj, he alleged.

Raghuwansi claimed he moved the court where he has submitted some documents he got under the right to information act.

When contacted, Madhya Pradesh government spokesperson and chairman of housing board Narottam Mishra said he had no idea if a decision had been taken to allot a house to Swaraj in the second phase of the housing scheme.

“I can not comment on it,” he said.