PM Housing Scheme Hijacked
•PM Housing Scheme Costs Double Under Eknath Shinde Rule
• Crores Wasted, Poor Betrayed
• No RERA, No Clearance, Yet Green Signal to ₹434 Cr Scam
Unmesh Gujarathi
Sprouts News Exclusive
A massive financial irregularity has surfaced in Mumbai’s redevelopment sector under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban), highlighting how contractors’ coffers were filled during Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s tenure. In Badlapur, the cost of an affordable house under the project has ballooned from ₹8 lakh to ₹17.5 lakh, burdening low-income families and raising serious concerns about urban development governance.
• Mumbai Redevelopment Project Sees Unprecedented Cost Escalation
The Sprouts News Special Exclusive Team investigation reveals that the Badlapur Municipal Council approved the construction of 2,298 houses under the PM Housing Scheme on government-owned Survey Numbers 98, 98A, and 99 in Belvali. Originally sanctioned in 2019, the project aimed to provide 462 free homes to slum dwellers and sell 1,836 homes (325 sq ft each) at ₹11.2 lakh through a lottery.
After factoring central subsidies of ₹2.5 lakh per home, beneficiaries were expected to pay just ₹8.7 lakh. However, due to project delays blamed on COVID-19 and other excuses, contractor Ram Lingam stalled the project for three years. During Eknath Shinde’s chief ministership, the state-level cost appraisal committee shockingly approved a revised budget — increasing project costs from ₹255 crore to ₹434 crore.
As a result, the poor now face a crushing price tag of ₹17.5 lakh for homes initially marketed as “affordable,” undermining the very objective of Mumbai redevelopment policies.
• Questionable Urban Development Policy Execution in Badlapur
Adding to the controversy, the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) project office — temporarily set up within the Badlapur Municipal Council — is paying staff salaries from the municipal treasury instead of the project’s administrative budget. Residents have questioned this financial mismanagement, asking why local funds are being used for a central government initiative.
According to the Sprouts News Special Exclusive Team, private developers in the same Badlapur area are offering 550 sq ft flats for around ₹20 lakh, while the government scheme is pricing much smaller 343 sq ft flats at ₹17.5 lakh. This pricing anomaly makes the PM Housing Scheme homes more expensive than private builder offerings, casting serious doubts on the project’s viability and public appeal.
• Environmental Clearance and RERA Violations Threaten Project Legality
Investigations reveal that despite project approval in 2019, the contractor failed to obtain mandatory environmental clearance, blatantly violating environmental regulations. Moreover, the project lacks registration under the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act (RERA), exposing it to potential legal action and delays.
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Originally scheduled for completion by 2022, the project instead received a questionable three-year extension under the current government, along with an endorsement for escalated costs. Critics allege that despite regulatory lapses, undue favoritism was shown to the developer during Shinde’s regime.
The Sprouts News Special Exclusive Team has learned that calls for a comprehensive probe are intensifying. Citizens and activists are demanding to uncover who truly benefited from this manipulation of Mumbai redevelopment policies, questioning if larger political or bureaucratic interests were involved behind the scenes.