India Today Impact: Delhi body files complaint over poor housing scam – Delhi News

The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) today lodged a formal complaint at the Govindpuri police station after India Today’s sting operation found corruption in allotment of flats under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY).

Operation Sting reveals corruption

India Today’s investigative team has uncovered a nexus between corrupt DDA employees and middlemen who sold flats meant for underprivileged families. These apartments, built under PMAY, were being sold in the open market for thousands of rupees. During the sting operation, two middlemen, Sanjay Kumar Pandit and Sudhir Sharma, were seen offering to sell these flats to ineligible buyers using fake documents. “You give Rs 6.5 lakh, and we will take care of the paperwork,” Pandit was heard saying during the operation.

Pandit assured the undercover reporter that the deal was simple: half payment up front, followed by false documents to make it appear that the buyer was a former slum resident.

Meanwhile, confirming that everything Pandit had explained was correct, Sharma asked the journalist to transfer the money to his wife’s account to avoid scrutiny.

Sharma said buyers should not be government employees to avoid complications. He even provided a fake DDA survey card, showing how individuals who have never lived in slums could easily acquire these subsidized flats.

The scheme and the scam

Launched in 2015, the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana aims to provide affordable housing to the poor and slum dwellers. Several apartments have been constructed in South Delhi’s Kalkaji area under this project. In November 2022, Prime Minister Narendra Modi handed over the keys of 3,024 newly constructed apartments in Kalkaji region to the beneficiaries of the PMAY scheme.

However, due to the high demand and prime location, the apartments have attracted the attention of scammers. These individuals began to manipulate the allocation process, making profits by illegally selling the properties.