Mercedes vs Bicycle in LIG Scheme?: HC calls it ‘Mockery of Poor’, stays CIDCO allotments

On Wednesday, the Bombay High Court stayed the allotment of nearly 25,000 flats under the PMAY-U 2.0 scheme in Navi Mumbai, holding that the eligibility criteria framed by CIDCO prima facie defeat the very purpose of providing affordable housing to the economically weaker sections. The Court’s intervention comes as a major check on how welfare schemes are being implemented, particularly where policy dilution risks excluding genuine beneficiaries.

The controversy began when CIDCO permitted individuals earning above ₹6 lakh annually to apply for flats earmarked under the Lower Income Group (LIG) category, subject only to the condition that they did not own a pucca house in Navi Mumbai. Petitioners argued that this opened the floodgates for financially well-off applicants, effectively pushing out those the scheme was originally intended to serve. The Court examined the scheme framework and noted that under PMAY-U 2.0, income caps were clearly defined across LIG and MIG categories, raising serious concerns over CIDCO’s deviation through its 2024 advertisement.

The Bench of Justice Ravindra Ghuge and Justice Abhay Mantri questioned the logic behind such eligibility, observing, “How can someone earning more than Rs 6 lakhs annually be considered to be falling in a LIG?” The Court remarked that such a framework forces unequal classes to compete, undermining the scheme’s core objective and amounting to a “mockery of the poor.” It further held that CIDCO’s modifications prima facie dilute the intent of affordable housing policies, and restrained it from proceeding with allotments or handing over possession to ineligible applicants.

Consequently, the entire allotment process has been stayed until further orders.

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