Delhi Development Authority files complaint over scam in housing for poor

The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) has filed a formal complaint at Govindpuri police station today after India Today’s sting operation uncovered corruption in the allotment of flats under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY).
India Today’s investigative team uncovered a nexus between corrupt DDA employees and middlemen who were selling flats meant for underprivileged families. These flats, built under PMAY, were being sold on the open market for lakhs of rupees. In the sting op, two middlemen, Sanjay Kumar Pandit and Sudhir Sharma, were seen offering to sell these flats to non-eligible buyers using fake documents. “You give Rs 6.5 lakh, and we’ll take care of the paperwork,” Pandit was heard saying during the operation.
Pandit assured the undercover reporter that the deal was simple: half the payment upfront, followed by fake documentation to make it appear as if the buyer was a former slum resident.
Meanwhile, confirming that everything Pandit had explained was accurate, Sharma asked the reporter to transfer the money to his wife’s account to avoid scrutiny.
Sharma stated that buyers should not be government employees to avoid complications. He even provided a false DDA survey card, showing how individuals who never lived in slums could easily acquire these subsidised flats.
Launched in 2015, the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana aims to provide affordable housing for poor and slum dwellers. Several flats were constructed in South Delhi’s Kalkaji area under this scheme. In November 2022, Prime Minister Narendra Modi handed over keys to 3,024 newly constructed flats in Kalkaji area to beneficiaries of the PMAY scheme.
However, due to the high demand and prime location, the flats caught the attention of scamsters. These individuals began manipulating the allotment process, making profits by illegally selling the properties.