An associate of Medha Patkar has filed a criminal complaint in the sessions court against Niranjan Hiranandani.
The complainant has sought the court to direct the ACB to register a criminal case against the developer in connection with the alleged irregularities in Powai project.
In 1977, the state had announced the Powai Housing Development Scheme for economically weaker sections (EWS), to be implemented over 140 hectares in the villages of Powai, Kopri and Tirandaz.
In 1986, the state signed an agreement with Mr Hiranandani, and handed over 230 acres on an 80-year lease at the rate of 40 paise per acre.
In return, the builder was asked to build flats for EWS and sell them at the rate of Rs 150 per sq ft.
However, an inquiry held in 2009 revealed that out of the 5.74 lakh sq metres of the built up area that was sanctioned by the state, the developer had only utilised 76,120 sq metres. The rest was converted into luxury apartments admeasuring 2,000 to 5,000 sq ft and sold at the rate of `8,000 to Rs 15,000 per sq ft. The court is expected to pass an order on the complaint on July 2.
When this correspondent contacted an official from Hiranandani Group’s corporate communication department, he said that they were unable to get in touch with Mr Hiranandani. This correspondent also tried to contact Mr Hiranandani, but he did not revert to the messages or calls.