Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Mar 6: The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) today registered a case in Jammu and Kashmir Cooperative Housing Corporation Rs 1000 crore loan default and diversion case and encroachment of State land and its illegal sale.
The ACB said that a Preliminary Enquiry (PE) was registered based on a complaint received from the GAD to look into the allegations of J&K Cooperative Housing Corporation (JKCHC) which was registered in the year 1982 by the then Registrar of J&K Cooperative Societies to provide housing facilities to the public had defaulted in repayment of loan amount amounting to Rs. 40.63 crore raised from HUDCO. “J&K Govt. was the Guarantor and 70 % of the capital was owned by the Govt.”
It said that the complaint further revealed as on 26.07.2017, an amount of Rs. 90 crores including interest was outstanding against the Corporation. “HUDCO had further blacklisted the Government till liquidation of the outstanding loan and no further loan facilities were granted by HUDCO for execution of various projects in J&K,” the ACB said.
The enquiry, the ACB said, further revealed that JKCHC availed around 27 loan facilities from HUDCO from 1991 to 2001 for the acquisition and development of lands for constructing housing colonies in J&K.
“The prominent colonies are Kud Housing Colony, Davik Housing, Kalu Chak, Swarn Vihar, Tawi Vihar Housing Colony, Swarn Vihar, Peer Bagh Housing Colony etc.
JKCHCL defaulted in payment in the loan and as on 31.11.2020 an amount of Rs 1006 crore is outstanding for repayment to HUDCO.
The ACB said that the enquiry has also revealed that the Chairman, Managing Directors and other officials who were at the helm of affairs in JKCHCL had diverted and misappropriated the loan amounts to the tune of Rs. 23.12 crores for various other purposes.
“It indicated that the Management of JKCHCL in conspiracy with each other and other unknown officials had deliberately defaulted in the repayment of the loans due to which the accounts became NPA and the outstanding amount created”, the ACB said.
“The enquiry has revealed that there has been an illegal modification in the norms and bylaws of JKCHCL and encroachment upon Govt. land and community land for development of housing schemes which were later sold off for a profit. Even the OTS amount arrived at with the intervention of the Govt. was not repaid by the JKCHCL.”
Subsequently, the ACB said, an FIR was registered based on the omissions and commissions disclosed during the enquiry on the part of the then Chairman, MD Brij Bhushan Sharma and other officials of the Management of the JKCHCL and unknown officials of the Govt. u/s 5(1)(c), 5(1)(d) read with sections 5(2) of JK PC Act Svt 2006 and Ss. 409, 120-B RPC.
ACB said that searches were conducted after obtaining warrants from the Court at the residential premises of the then MD Brij Bhushan Sharma of JKCHCL, Office Premises of JKCHCL and Office premises of JK Housing and Tourism Society/ Corporation being operated by Brij Bhushan Sharma.
“Incriminating documents and articles have been recovered in the searches conducted,” the Bureau said, adding that further investigation of the case is going on.
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