Six Years, Zero Action: Who Shields Sandhya Bawankule?
• Audit Frauds, RTI Scams, Yet No FIRs – Why?
• SRA Watchdog Missing: Sprouts SIT Exposes System Failure
• MLAs Raise Red Flags, Govt Still Silent
Unmesh Gujarathi
Sprouts News Exclusive
Contact: +91 9322755098
Sprouts News Exclusive
Contact: +91 9322755098
Despite serious allegations of corruption, audit frauds, and RTI suppression, Sandhya Bawankule continues as Assistant Registrar of SRA Bandra for over six years. The Sprouts News Investigation Team (SIT) reveals systemic lapses, political shielding, and financial irregularities demanding urgent transfer, forensic audit, and criminal probe into her tenure.
Assistant Registrar Sandhya Bawankule: Six Years of Controversy, Zero Accountability
Despite multiple Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) investigations, formal complaints, and repeated red flags raised by lawmakers and citizens, Sandhya Bawankule, Assistant Registrar at the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) in Bandra, Mumbai, remains firmly in office. Her prolonged tenure, now in its sixth year as of July 2025, defies civil service norms and raises troubling questions about political patronage, bureaucratic protection, and administrative failure.
The Sprouts News Investigation Team (SIT) has uncovered a web of audit frauds, delayed inquiries, and possible collusion that appears to shield her from accountability. With serious allegations involving disproportionate assets, violation of tenure rules, and financial malpractice by board-appointed administrators, the demand for action is louder than ever.
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Contents
- Six Years, Zero Action: Who Shields Sandhya Bawankule?
- • Audit Frauds, RTI Scams, Yet No FIRs – Why?
- • SRA Watchdog Missing: Sprouts SIT Exposes System Failure
- • MLAs Raise Red Flags, Govt Still Silent
- Assistant Registrar Sandhya Bawankule: Six Years of Controversy, Zero Accountability
- ACB Probes Ignored: Why No Action on Serious Ethics Complaints?
- SRA Audit Fraud & RTI Suppression: A Pattern of Abuse
- Lavish Lifestyle vs Salary: Questions Around Dubious Financial Links
- Tenure Rule Violations: Legal Loopholes or Political Cover?
- SRA’s Watchdog Is Missing: Cover-Up or System Collapse?
- Growing Public Outcry: Civil Society Demands Urgent Action
- SIT Will Keep the Pressure On
ACB Probes Ignored: Why No Action on Serious Ethics Complaints?
Official documents accessed by Sprouts SIT reveal long-standing ACB complaints, including one related to disproportionate assets filed in 2024. The matter has been pending under the Chief Secretary of the Co-operation Department without progress for over a year.
One notable complaint from her tenure in Panvel detailed coercion and unethical demands from housing society members. Despite being well documented, these cases remain unresolved.
Internal SRA sources told Sprouts SIT that IAS officer Deepak Kapoor, former SRA CEO, was abruptly transferred in 2021 after objecting to Bawankule’s reposting—a highly irregular dual-posting decision that bypassed standard service norms.
SRA Audit Fraud & RTI Suppression: A Pattern of Abuse
Under Bawankule’s supervision, serious audit irregularities have surfaced, especially in a prominent society where ₹93 lakh worth of misappropriations and fraud was reported. Audited reports show multiple violations:
•Recovery charges waived despite Registrar denial
•Tampering of audit reports before circulation
•Defaulters appointed as administrators
•Unlawful SGM decisions overriding registrar orders
Despite 88 special audit reports flagging fraud, the SRA has not filed a single FIR. The situation suggests a deliberate attempt to suppress financial accountability.
Further, the State Information Commission (SIC) annual report (FY 2022–23) shows zero RTI filings from SRA Bandra—statistically improbable given numerous ongoing hearings. Sprouts SIT also uncovered evidence of ghost PIO appointments, where responsibility was shifted without enforcement or transparency, effectively evading RTI accountability.
Lavish Lifestyle vs Salary: Questions Around Dubious Financial Links
Sandhya Bawankule’s lifestyle—visible on social media—appears inconsistent with her ₹1.23 lakh/month government salary. Investigators are now also scrutinizing her husband Mangesh Bawankule, who owns 99% of Rampson Restaurants, operating “Kone Bar & Eatery” in Navi Mumbai.
Though the restaurant reported a ₹87 lakh turnover in FY 2023–24, the declared profit was just ₹3.5 lakh, and fixed assets only ₹16 lakh—despite viral photos revealing expensive interiors. These financial discrepancies have led activists to demand a forensic audit of both personal and business accounts linked to the Bawankule family.
Tenure Rule Violations: Legal Loopholes or Political Cover?
The Delay in Discharge of Duties Act, 2006 mandates no officer can serve over three years in the same post. Yet, Bawankule remains in power for six consecutive years, allegedly under a controversial Government Resolution (GR) that protects only “efficient and honest” officers.
Despite widespread public grievances, MLA objections in Vidhan Bhavan, and internal department complaints, her transfer has not materialized. Societies under her oversight have:
•Skipped elections for over a decade
•Illegally expelled members
•Tampered financial records
•Continued administrator rule well beyond legal limits
Sprouts SIT has confirmed that several society resolutions have reversed Registrar orders, ignoring legal boundaries, with the support—or silence—of SRA Bandra.
SRA’s Watchdog Is Missing: Cover-Up or System Collapse?
Repeated RTIs, citizen complaints, and audit reports submitted by Sprouts News SIT have reached high offices, including the EOW, CBI, PMO, and even Rashtrapati Bhavan. Yet, there is no departmental inquiry, transfer, or criminal prosecution.
This pattern suggests a deeper rot: Is the Housing Department shielding Sandhya Bawankule for political leverage or to control selective policy enforcement across Mumbai’s lucrative housing redevelopment landscape?
Also Read: RCL Collapse: ED Targets Major Banks in ₹17,000 Cr Scam.
Growing Public Outcry: Civil Society Demands Urgent Action
Whistleblowers, RTI activists, and urban housing advocates are demanding:
•Immediate suspension and transfer of Sandhya Bawankule
•Departmental and criminal proceedings under the Prevention of Corruption Act
•Forensic audit of audit reports and RTI responses from 2019–2025
•Enforcement of Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Act, Sections 83 & 88
•Action against ₹10+ crore frauds across cooperative societies under her jurisdiction
Without swift action, the SRA risks becoming a symbol of unchecked corruption, further damaging public trust in urban governance.
SIT Will Keep the Pressure On
The Sprouts News Investigation Team (SIT) remains committed to tracking this unfolding case. With mounting evidence of corruption, financial fraud, and administrative neglect, the ball is now in the Maharashtra government’s court.
Will the system act before it collapses completely? Or will Sandhya Bawankule remain the face of impunity in Maharashtra’s housing administration?
