WIDEHOUSE CORRUPTION SCANDAL OF ILLEGAL CONSTRUCTION IN DELHI STOP LETHAL CONSTRUCTION, CORRUPTION, AND POLLUTION IN DELHI Report by Rakesh Raman
Senior citizens in a group housing society of Dwarka in New Delhi urge the government to save them from dust pollution, noise pollution, and air pollution of extended FAR construction activity. Photo and Campaign by Rakesh Raman
This report includes Widehouse corruption scandal facts, figures, names of accused officials, government documents, infographics, photographs, video links, and the actions expected from the Indian and international law-enforcement agencies.
The citywide construction cum corruption racket termed as Widehouse Corruption Scandal - is being run by local criminals who operate as management committee (MC) members of Delhi’s cooperative group housing societies in connivance with crooked politicians, corrupt bureaucrats, complicit police officials, dishonest members of judiciary, and builders’ mafia.
After the criminal enterprise of Nazi Germany during the Holocaust for the genocide of millions of European Jews, the Widehouse corruption scandal is the largest organized massacre not only in India but also in the world. In this criminal attack, millions of people are victims of a single crime which is being brazenly supported by the Indian government to harm its own citizens.
Corruption Scandal
Delhi
Although a range of crimes are being committed by the MC members of cooperative group housing societies (CGHS) in Delhi, the following report describes the floor area ratio (FAR) construction crime. Among other disturbances and financial implications for residents, FAR construction is spreading lethal dust pollution, noise pollution, and air pollution in occupied housing societies where millions of people live.
Corrupt Actors in the Widehouse Corruption Scandal of Delhi
As a journalist and anti corruption activist, I have been fighting against this scandal for the past few years. While I am facing constant threats including death threats for my editorial and anti corruption work, I have written a number of reports (links given below) to highlight the crimes in the FAR construction projects This report as an update aims to sensitize law enforcement agencies in India and abroad and seek their help so that this genocidal crime could be stopped in Delhi.
I have received dozens of letters from different government departments to inform me that the action is being taken against the accused officials. However, no action has been taken during the past couple of years and the lethal construction continues Some of the government letters are reproduced below and more of these letters are included in the hyperlinked documents given in this report.
CRIMES IN THE CASE: Corruption, Rent Seeking, Human Rights Violations, Environmental Crimes [ Ecocide ], Misuse of Authority, Criminal Conspiracy, Extortion, Intention to Harm Citizens, Anti national / Unlawful Activities, Crimes Against Humanity.
WIDEHOUSE CORRUPTION SCANDAL
The Widehouse scandal is a citywide construction cum corruption racket being run by local criminals who operate as management committee (MC) members of Delhi’s cooperative group housing societies (CGHS) with support from crooked politicians, corrupt bureaucrats, complicit police officials, dishonest members of judiciary, and builders’ mafia.
The estimated annual corruption money involved in this scandal is hundreds (or may be thousands) of crores of rupees (equivalent to millions of dollars) and nearly 2 million (20 lakh) residents are the direct victims in this criminal case. If not stopped, the harmful FAR construction will continue in Delhi for many years even until 2030.
I have given it the name Widehouse, because this scandal is being run under the garb of widening the occupied houses where men, women (including senior citizens), and children are living The expansion of existing houses is being imposed on residents to extort money from them. If you just see the photographs and video links provided below of construction happening in the housing societies, you will find that the corrupt officials are allowing a heinous environmental crime which is posing serious health threats and apparently causing deaths of residents
The crimes being committed by the MC members of housing societies include corruption, fraud, cheating, bribery, intimidation, illegal surveillance, unauthorized occupation of parking space, human rights violations, illegal appointment of vendors, environmental damage, defiance of court orders, and obstruction of justice The MC members bribe the police and other government functionaries to commit all the crimes and enjoy impunity.
The Registrar Cooperative Societies (RCS) office of Delhi Government is supposed to regulate and supervise the functioning of housing societies. But the RCS officials are so corrupt that they brazenly violate the Delhi Cooperative Societies Act (DCS Act) to protect the corrupt MC members who regularly bribe the RCS officials
When the aggrieved residents complain against the criminal MC members of their housing societies, the RCS officials ignore their complaints and refuse to follow the DCS
Act because they are bribed by the MC members who use public funds of society members to bribe the government officials. Since the Delhi Government politicians also take their share of the bribes running into crores of rupees, they do not take any action against the corrupt RCS officials As a result, the ordinary residents who complain against the MC members keep suffering while corruption is spreading rapidly.
Further, to terrorize the complainants, the criminal MC members file false complaints against them, impose arbitrary financial penalities on them, and file expulsion cases at the RCS office against the residents who raise their voice against the crimes in their housing societies Since there is a criminal nexus between RCS officials and MC members, the RCS office accepts bogus complaints filed by corrupt MC members to harass the ordinary members of housing societies. Even courts which are full of corrupt and incompetent judges refuse to entertain aggrived residents’ complaints against the crimes of RCS officials and MC members of housing societies There is no forum for the harmed residents where they could go and complain.
The criminality of RCS officials is also visible in the fact that they do not enforce their own laws in housing societies. For example, the RCS office issued specific directions in 2015 for all the housing societies making it mandatory for them to create the society website to keep all the members informed of the society activities in a transparent manner.
But more than 90% of the 2,000 housing societies in Delhi still do not have their website and those societies which have their website do not put proper information on it or do not update the website at all. The RCS office knows about this violation of its regulation, but it never takes any action against the criminal MC members who run the society activities in an opaque manner to cheat the resident members. The RCS office does not penalize the MC members who defy its website creation order because the RCS officials get monthly bribes from the MC members of housing societies. The bribe money runs into hundreds of crores of rupees (equivalent to millions of dollars)
While the RCS office is one of the most corrupt offices in India, there have been myriad cases of corruption involving RCS officials. Many of the corrupt RCS officials have been jailed, but the corruption has not stopped. Now, it appears that the imprisonment is not a sufficient punishment for RCS bureaucrats They should rather be publicly executed to stop corruption at the RCS office
EXTENDED FAR CONSTRUCTION
Now, the criminal MC members are forcing the residents in cooperative group housing societies to accept exorbitantly expensive extended construction in their existing flats under a dubious floor area ratio (FAR) scheme, which is designed to plunder more public money. The MC members and builders’ mafia in collusion with the top RCS officials even hire musclemen to intimidate those residents who oppose FAR construction. Since police officers are also bribed, they ignore the complaints of residents who are threatened to pay huge money for FAR construction.
Perils of FAR Construction in Widehouse Scandal
The dangerous FAR construction in hundreds of occupied housing societies where hundreds of thousands of people (men, women, children, and senior citizens) live is spreading lethal dust pollution, noise pollution, and air pollution and causing serious accidents Despite numerous complaints from the residents during the past couple of years, the authorities have not stopped construction and corruption
Although a number of departments and officials are involved in this scandal, the criminal MC members mainly collude with the corrupt officials of Delhi Development Authority (DDA), Registrar Cooperative Societies (RCS) office of Delhi Government, Delhi Fire
Service (DFS), Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC), and Delhi Police.
In some cases where the illegal construction is challenged and stopped, the MC members bribe the court judges to get the unauthorized construction resumed. The court judges are so corrupt that even when the cases do not fall under their jurisdiction, they take bribes to allow illegal construction. While the whole system is corrupt, there is no punishment for bureaucratic corruption and judicial corruption.
Dirty Departments in Widehouse Scandal
Since the MC members collect crores of rupees as extortion money from residents in each housing society, they bribe the corrupt officials to commit this crime with impunity.
The harmful FAR construction will continue for many years in Delhi’s housing societies
Although DDA refuses to entertain even the RTI (Right to Information) applications
Widehouse Corruption Scandal in Delhi
Rakesh
inquiring about the extent of FAR construction, it is learnt that the FAR projects are at various stages of implementation in hundreds of housing societies. [ List is given below. ]
While the FAR policy is totally ambiguous and harmful, it ignores many other existing laws. When FAR construction is allowed in a housing society, it violates various laws including Article 21 of the Indian Constitution, Unified Building Bye Laws (UBBL), Delhi Apartment Ownership Act, Delhi Fire Service (DFS) Rules, National Building Code (NBC), Easementary Rights, Delhi Preservation of Trees Act, and Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act. FAR construction also violates a number of environmental and human rights laws
You can click here to download and read a report that describes the environmental and human rights laws that the FAR construction violates.
Although the government claims that the current phase of FAR extension is based on the Master Plan for Delhi 2021 (MPD 2021), it brazenly violates even the requirements for the implementation of MPD 2021
Since FAR construction is a criminal activity, it was stated in Lok Sabha (Parliament of India) that “No additional FAR will be granted on existing structures, as these could compromise the structural safety of existing buildings and risk to living inhabitants.”
But the criminals in housing societies who get support from builders’ mafia and corrupt government officials ignored the Parliament decision to commit this heinous crime which has made life miserable for residents in housing societies I am also a victim of FAR construction which is happening in my housing society.
BRIEF FACTS OF FAR CONSTRUCTION IN WIDEHOUSE CORRUPTION SCANDAL
1. Driven by corruption, the FAR construction in cooperative group housing societies (CGHS) of Delhi is a form of extended construction activity in the occupied housing complexes.
2. The extended construction is spreading lethal dust pollution, noise pollution, and air pollution in the city This pollution will directly affect the health of almost 2 million people who live in nearly 2,000 housing societies. And millions of other citizens who live around these residential areas will also get affected with harmful pollution.
3. The housing societies are regulated by the office of the Registrar Cooperative Societies (RCS) of Delhi Government. However, the RCS office refuses to stop FAR construction crime and corruption that MC members of housing societies are committing.
Office of the Registrar Cooperative Societies (RCS) of Delhi Government, which is among the most corrupt departments of India RCS office can stop crimes of MC members in housing societies. But the RCS officials are bribed by MC members to commit crimes.
Photo: Rakesh Raman / RMN News Service
4. Now, the FAR approvals are being given by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) Once DDA approves the FAR proposal of a housing society, the Delhi Fire Service (DFS) and Delhi Urban Art Commission (DUAC) blindly clear FAR projects.
5. Although the FAR scheme was first floated about 10 years ago, it was shelved with a government notification of 2012 from the office of the Lt Governor (LG) of Delhi which stated that FAR is not allowed in the occupied housing societies.
The notification states that “it has been decided in public interest that increased FAR should not be permitted in respect of already constructed and occupied CGHS (cooperative group housing societies). ”
As the “public interest” factor is still valid, FAR cannot be permitted in occupied CGHS. Many society management committees (MCs) baselessly argue that it is an old rule But
the point is that this rule was made keeping in view the “public interest” because extended construction will be harmful to the public in occupied housing complexes. Then how can the “public interest” concern suddenly disappear after a few years? It can’t.
6. Also, The Times of India (TOI) newspaper quoted a DDA official who said about the FAR scheme that “the existing societies cannot be allowed to extend the structures as this would undermine the strength of the building and put people's lives at risk. The only way they can make use of the additional FAR is by constructing another block or tower on the premises." The TOI report also added that “since the increased FAR from 150 to 200 applies only to new constructions, these societies are considering bringing down old structures to make way for new buildings.”
7. The LG office notification mentioned above and the DDA had anticipated that the additional FAR construction in occupied housing societies will weaken the structural stability and the strength of the buildings and put people's lives at risk That anticipation was correct, as the existing housing society buildings where FAR construction is happening have started crumbling and major accidents are happening in the buildings as well as individual flats. [ You can click here to study a related report along with photographic evidence of the destructive effect of FAR construction on the buildings ] Although this report was shared with the authorities, they did not stop FAR construction which shows that FAR work is part of a criminal enterprise.
8. The current phase of FAR projects is based on a standalone gazette notification dated August 11, 2016 issued by the Ministry of Urban Development (Delhi Division). According to the notification’s Para 4.4.3 for Group Housing Max. ground coverage: 33⁄% [ in case of addition / alteration of existing DUs (dwelling units) for availing balance FAR, ground coverage upto 40% may be allowed ].
9. The new FAR scheme which breaks many existing laws vaguely allows inhabited group housing complexes of Delhi to extend their existing buildings by allowing individual flat owners to add more rooms, etc while ignoring the health and safety concerns of others who prefer to live in a clean, peaceful environment.
10. It is learnt that the new FAR policy was announced by the government under pressure from local lawmakers who are part of the criminal racket being run by dishonest builders and the MC members of housing societies Therefore, corrupt politicians are not eager to stop it even when FAR construction is hazardous.
11. As DDA has stated, FAR is possible as separate blocks without disturbing the existing flats only when all the members (100% members) in a society agree for FAR. If only one member does not want FAR construction, it cannot be started in a society building. You can read below the DDA / government rule:
“The existing societies cannot be allowed to extend the structures as this would undermine the strength of the building and put people’s lives at risk… If even a single flat owner disagrees (for FAR), the proposal would have to be shelved (canceled).”
12. But now DDA violates its own rule to allow FAR construction. The total corruption money involved in the FAR projects is estimated to be thousands of crores of rupees Corruption happens as the MCs quote inflated rates and force flat owners to pay those rates. In some cases, the MCs charge 100% more money than the actual costs of construction With this ill gotten money, MCs bribe government officials, politicians, and judges to get FAR approvals and carry out FAR projects in an unlawful manner
13. The complaints of people who oppose FAR are falling on deaf ears. Now, many complainants are going to the courts to get FAR stopped. But the Indian judicial system is not working properly while most lawyers and judges lack understanding of the emerging environmental issues So, people do not get justice in Indian courts
14. Governments and courts in India have failed to understand that environmental pollution has become a major factor that is causing ‘global warming’ or climate change Unlike other local problems such as poverty, unemployment, and illiteracy, pollution and environmental damage have global implications and local environmental crimes can adversely affect people on the entire planet
15. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) of India has observed that one of the major sources of air pollution is dust emission from construction activities, which must be stopped to avoid pollution related diseases and deaths. Since FAR construction is spreading enormous dust in housing societies where people live, it must be stopped immediately [ You can click here to study a related report along with video links and photographic evidence. ]
16. Despite guidelines, the housing societies where FAR construction happens blatantly defy pollution control norms and dust / noise pollution increases drastically in the buildings where people are living. Since police and other law enforcement agencies are
Delhi
bribed by the MCs of societies, they ignore residents’ complaints to get dust and noise pollution stopped. [ You can click here to study a related report along with photographic evidence. ]
17. No activity can be legal if it poses a risk to even one person’s life. The truth is that the FAR extended construction related pollution as well as accidents in buildings put at risk the lives of millions of people who live in and around Delhi. Thus, FAR construction is an illegal activity.
You can click here to download and read a 64 page petition dated October 14, 2021 sent to different authorities to get FAR construction stopped in Delhi. But the complicit authorities did not take any action.
18. As FAR projects are happening in a number of housing societies of Delhi, it is believed that thousands of people are already suffering in the city. But unfortunately the government is not keeping data related to FAR related diseases and deaths. Delhi Development Authority (DDA) has even refused to share data requested through RTI applications about housing societies that have applied for FAR approvals.
19. Pollution with FAR construction is spreading like a deadly pandemic disease in Delhi But the pollution control agencies ignored my complaints after writing casual, useless letters. The officials at these pollution control agencies are also culprits in this citywide Widehouse scandal [ You can click here to read a related report ]
20. Unlike essential construction for hospitals, schools, roads, and bridges, FAR construction is totally avoidable and hence must be stopped immediately.
21. The residents of Delhi urge the government to save them from the dust and noise pollution coming in group housing societies from FAR construction so that they could live in a clean, pollution free environment. [ You can click here to watch a related video. ]
22. In some cases, the corrupt MC members are deceptively linking FAR construction with building repairs in order to extort money from all the members including those who oppose FAR construction. The retired / senior citizens who do not have financial resources to pay for FAR or deceptive building repairs are forced by MCs and external criminals of builders’ mafia to take loans and pay for this criminal activity. Since the RCS
officials are bribed by MCs, they collude with MC members to harass those residents who cannot pay for FAR or repairs.
A number of corrupt government functionaries, MC members, and companies of builders’ mafia are involved in the Widehouse corruption scandal. A thorough and transparent investigation can catch all the culprits However, the names of a few accused officials, the builders’ mafia leaders, and their accomplices are given below.
Widehouse Corruption Scandal in Delhi Names of the Main Accused
Mr. Devinder Singh, IAS former Registrar, RCS, Delhi Government
Mr. Devesh Singh, IAS Registrar (RCS)
Mr. Manish Kumar Gupta, IAS Vice Chairman, Delhi Development Authority (DDA)
Mr. Ajay Saroj Director (Building) at DDA
Mr. Manish Khurana AD&SJ cum P.O. at Appellate Tribunal MCD (ATMCD), Delhi
Mr. Anto Alphonse DCP, Delhi Police
Ms. Chhaya Sharma Jt. Commissioner, Economic Offences Wing (EOW), Delhi Police
Mr. Sanjeev Khirwar, IAS Chairman, Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC)
Dr. K.S. Jayachandran Member Secretary, DPCC
Mr. Joseph Baxela Assistant Registrar, RCS Office
Mr. Pankaj Kumar, IAS District Magistrate (North East) Delhi
Mr. Rakesh Das Deputy Registrar at RCS office
Mr. Anurag Jain, IAS former Vice Chairman, DDA
Mr. Yogesh Tyagi Dy Director at DDA
Mr. Santosh Kumar Meena DCP, Delhi Police
Mr. Shankar Choudhary DCP, Delhi Police
Mr. Tanmay Kumar, IAS Chairman, Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB)
Mr. N.K. Gupta Divisional Head, UPC I, CPCB
Mr. Gopal Rai Delhi Environment Minister
Mr. Dharmender Sharma Director SAGR, DDA
Mr. Phool Meena
Deputy Secretary (Vigilance) Delhi Government
Mr. Bhupesh Chaudhary D C Najafgarh, MCD South, Delhi
Design N Design Architects
Leading Builders’ Mafia Anupam Plaza, Hauz Khas, New Delhi 110016. Ph: 011 26853257
Vivek & Arti Architects
Builders' Mafia Gang Member
Team Professional Consultant Builders' Mafia Gang Member
Mr. Praveen Dhamija former Dy. Director (Building), DDA
Mr. Tarun Kapoor, IAS former Vice Chairman, DDA
Mr. Udai Pratap Singh former Vice Chairman, DDA
Mr. H. Rajesh Prasad former Secretary, Cooperation of Delhi Government
Mr. Amit Kumar, JD(P) / CVO Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) New Delhi
Ms. Varsha Sharma
Dy. Commissioner of Police, Delhi Police
Mr. Akshay Bhardwaj
Enrl No. D 2106 / 2008, Bhardwaj Law Firm
Mr. M.N. Sampathkumar
Builders' Mafia Gang Member
Om Star Constructions Builders' Mafia Gang Member
Mr. Surjeet Jaradhara former Director (Building), DDA
Mr. Atul Garg, Chief Fire Officer Delhi Fire Service (DFS), Delhi Govt
Mr. Virendra Kumar, IAS former Registrar Cooperative Societies
Mr. Jayadev Sarangi former Registrar Cooperative Societies
Ms. Garima Gupta, IAS Secretary (Cooperation), RCS
Mr. Rajendra Pal Gautam Delhi Cooperative Minister
In addition to the main accused persons whose names are given above, more names of persons involved in the Widehouse corruption scandal may come out at the investigation and prosecution stage of the case. In order to stop corruption and environmental crimes, these accused persons must be immediately jailed because their presence in the public poses a serious threat to the citizens who want to live in a corruption-free and pollution-free environment.