Sanjay Raut arrested in Patra Chawl scam; will the 672 residents who suffered for years get justice now?

New Delhi: Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut was remanded to the custody of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) till August 4 in a money laundering case on Monday. He was produced by ED at a special court in Mumbai. He was produced by ED before the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court judge MG Deshpande. The law enforcement agency had sought his remand for eight days. The ED, represented by special public prosecutor Hiten Venegaonkar, told the court that Raut and his family were direct beneficiaries of the proceeds of crime.

What is the Patra Chawl scam?

Patra Chawl was set to be redeveloped by Maharashtra Housing and Development Authority (MHADA) around 2007-08. The residents were asked to vacate their homes in 2008. The contract to develop flats for 672 tenants of Patra Chawl was given to Guru Ashish Construction Pvt Ltd. However, the company didn't develope even one flat for the residents and sold the FSI or floor space index to nine private developers. It is alleged that they got Rs 901.79 crore for the same. Sanjay Raut's close aide Pravin Raut was a key part of this scam and allegedly transferred profits to Sanjay Raut and his family.

Also Read: Why was Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut arrested? Complete timeline of Patra Chawl scam case

Residents of Patra Chawl scam

The residents of Patra Chawl suffered greatly due to this massive scam as they were not given the homes promised to them. In an interview with the Indian Express, Sanjay Naik who used to live in Patra Chawl said that he was promised that he would get his home back in 3 years. However, more than 10 years later, he still hasn't gotten it.

As per the report, Naik is living on rent near the chawl with a family of 6 members. 

In 2008, the residents were asked to leave their homes for the project. According to reports, the developers were supposed to pay rent every month to all 672 tenants until the project is over. But they were only paid rent till 2015 after which the project got stuck.

One of the residents of the chawl Naresh Sawant told Indian Express, "A person has to pay at least Rs 20,000 for 1 BHK in Mumbai.Being middle-class, many tenants cannot pay that much rent and hence they have shifted to areas like Virar, Vasai, Nalasopara, Kalyan, Dombivili and Navi Mumbai. Some have even returned to their villages and have given up all their hopes."

(With agency inputs)