Vasai-Virar Scam: Ex-Civic Chief Ran Bribery Cartel for Illegal Buildings
Ex-Vasai-Virar chief Anil Pawar arrested for bribery and illegal building scam.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) revealed to a special court in Mumbai that former Vasai-Virar City Municipal Corporation (VVCMC) Commissioner Anil Pawar orchestrated a sophisticated bribery racket, enabling the illegal construction of 41 buildings on government and private land reserved for public utilities.
Pawar, an IAS officer, allegedly formed a “gang” with senior officers, junior engineers, architects, chartered accountants, and liaisoners upon assuming the role of civic commissioner in 2022. The ED accused him of charging substantial bribes to overlook rampant unauthorized constructions, failing to act against them despite his role as head of the VVCMC’s demolition department.
The ED’s investigation uncovered that builders Sitaram Gupta and Arun Gupta, along with town planner Y Shiva Reddy, were key players in the scam, which involved constructing residential-cum-commercial buildings on land designated for a sewage treatment plant and dumping ground in Vasai-Virar, a twin-city in Mumbai’s Palghar district.
The accused developers defrauded the public by selling flats in these unauthorized structures, using fabricated approval documents, fully aware that the buildings faced demolition. The ED highlighted that Pawar and Reddy collected bribes, with rates fixed at ₹20-25 per square foot for Pawar and ₹10 per square foot for Reddy, to facilitate these illegal activities.
Following raids on July 29, 2025, at multiple locations linked to Pawar, including his Virar bungalow and residences in Mumbai and Nashik, the ED seized incriminating documents and ₹1.33 crore in unaccounted cash. Pawar, Reddy, and the Gupta builders were arrested on August 13 and remanded to ED custody until August 20 by a special PMLA court.
The ED continues to probe the “huge scam” to identify other beneficiaries, trace laundered funds, and uncover properties acquired through illicit proceeds, underscoring the deep-rooted corruption that led to the demolition of the 41 illegal buildings after a Bombay High Court order.
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