The Enforcement Directorate carried out searches in Maharashtra’s Aurangabad at multiple locations as part of a money-laundering investigation into alleged cheating in the tender process conducted in connection with the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY).
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday carried out searches in Maharashtra’s Aurangabad at multiple locations as part of a money-laundering investigation into an alleged cheating in the tender process conducted in connection with the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) – Urban scheme of the Aurangabad Municipal Corporation.
The ED undertook an investigation into the matter following a case registered by the Aurangabad Police against three companies and its officials who were bidders in a bid for construction of the residential units under PMAY but allegedly formed a cartel in the PMAY tender.
During a verification carried out by Aurangabad civic body, they found that three qualified bidders had filed their e-tenders from the same Internet Protocol (IP) address or it was carried out from the same computer system, amounting to cartelisation. This is completely restricted as per rules set by the municipal corporation. Following this, an officer from Aurangabad Municipal Corporation filed a police complaint.
The ED probe is based on the case registered by the Aurangabad Police on the receipt of a complaint from Aurangabad Municipal Corporation’s Deputy Commissioner Aparna Thete, who was heading the PMAY wing in AMC.
The case was registered against three companies and 19 persons under charges of criminal conspiracy, common intention, cheating, forgery, cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property and other sections of IPC.
The central government’s housing scheme, the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), is a flagship programme that aims to provide shelter for the needy.
Under the scheme launched in 2015, the Central government allotted huge funds to build affordable concrete houses by 2024 in urban and rural areas, with the state and the Centre sharing expenses at a 60:40 ratio.
