2 min readApr 13, 2026 07:59 PM IST
The Maharashtra government Monday ordered a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into alleged violations of affordable housing norms in Nashik, after a review found that 49 residential projects did not comply with the mandatory 20 per cent quota for economically weaker sections (EWS) and low-income groups (LIG).
A Government Resolution (GR) issued Monday by the revenue department notes that projects exceeding 4,000 sq m in the Nashik Municipal Corporation area are required to set aside 20 per cent of units for EWS-LIG beneficiaries and hand them over to Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA).
The scrutiny covered projects approved between 2013 and 2024. Officials said several developers showed land parcels as split on paper to bring project sizes below the threshold. In some cases, land records, layout plans and related documents are suspected to have been falsified to secure approvals without meeting the quota condition.
The violations are estimated to have resulted in a shortfall of around 4,000 to 6,500 EWS-LIG units that should have been transferred to MHADA.
An FIR has been registered at the Sarkarwada Police Station against 194 developers under charges of cheating, forgery and criminal conspiracy, police said.
The GR also directs that responsibility be fixed on officials who failed to enforce the norms, with departmental action to follow where lapses are found.
The SIT, headed by the Nashik divisional commissioner, includes officials from the revenue, registration, police, town planning and land records departments. It has been asked to examine approvals, land transactions and project records, and submit a report within a month.
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The government has also asked departments to initiate steps to recover the required share of land or housing units in cases where the 20% quota was not implemented, in line with existing rules.
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