Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule on Monday disclosed before the Maharashtra state council that a 13-year-old housing scam in the Nashik Municipal Corporation area has been unearthed, in which homes earmarked for economically weaker sections under the Comprehensive Housing Policy were systematically diverted. So far, 197 accused have been identified and First Information Reports (FIRs) registered against 104 individuals. The minister confirmed that a comprehensive Action Taken Report (ATR) will be placed before the legislature during the December Winter Session.

How the Fraud Was Engineered

Under Urban Development Department regulations dated 8 November 2013, any housing layout developed on a plot of 4 acres or more must mandatorily reserve 20 per cent of units or land for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) and transfer it to MHADA (Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority). To bypass this rule, builders and government officials allegedly colluded to falsify land records. In one documented instance, a single 7-acre parcel was, on paper, subdivided into seven smaller plots, each falling below the threshold that triggers the reservation requirement. Falsified maps were submitted to secure illegal exemptions. A total of 49 such cases of fraudulent land subdivision have been identified, according to Bawankule.

A Senior Official Who Turned Consultant

The investigation has exposed a highly organised conspiracy spanning officials from MHADA, the Nashik Town Planning department, and the Land Records Department. In a particularly striking revelation, a senior Land Records official reportedly took voluntary retirement specifically to facilitate the scam, and subsequently became its chief consultant — allegedly earning 50 times his former government salary. The officer had fled the country but was tracked down abroad by the Revenue Department, brought back, and remanded to judicial custody for one and a half months of rigorous interrogation.

SIT Probe and Current Status

The state government has constituted a high-level Special Investigation Team (SIT) under Nashik Divisional Commissioner Pravin Gedam. The team includes the Nashik Police Commissioner, the Settlement Commissioner, and the Inspector General of Registration (IGR). Given the scale of the fraud, the SIT has sought a two-month extension, with its final report now due by 18 August 2026. The government will then scrutinise the findings over a further two months before the Urban Development Ministry and the Revenue Department jointly present the ATR in December. So far, 50 cases of fraudulent land mutations and alterations have been cancelled under Section 257 of the Maharashtra Land Revenue Code, and all charges filed are non-bailable.

Government's Assurance and Next Steps

Bawankule, responding to a calling-attention motion raised by Shiv Sena MLA Anil Parab, assured the house that no culprit would be spared. He added that positive discussions have been held with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and the Deputy Chief Minister on recovering financial losses suffered by MHADA and reclaiming the diverted land to finally deliver housing to the poor. The December Winter Session will be the next major accountability milestone in a case that has implicated officials across three state departments over more than a decade.