Petitioner seeks razing of illegal structures

A real estate agent on Monday approached the Bombay high court seeking directions for the Kalyan-Dombivali Municipal Corporation (KDMC) to demolish illegal constructions coming up in the area.

According to the petitioner, despite there being a ban on construction in the jurisdiction of KDMC in Thane due to lack of space for dumping garbage, many structures have come up in violation of a court order.

The petitioner Kishore Sohony mentioned the public interest litigation before the division bench headed by Chief Justice D.H. Waghela, which posted the matter for hearing in next week.

Sohony is a real estate agent by qualification and he has sought a direction to the government of Maharashtra and the commissioner of the KDMC to file a detailed report on the number of illegal constructions in the area and also take steps to demolish them. The petitioner has also demanded registration of criminal cases against municipal officials, real-estate developers and local politicians who are allegedly operating in connivance with the accused to build such illegal structures.

The PIL said the high court had earlier imposed a ban on the new constructions in the Kalyan-Dombivali region due to the lack of an appropriate dumping facility. Despite the ban, such illegal constructions are mushrooming in the area, it alleged.

The PIL also alleged that despite illegal constructions going on, agencies such as he Anti-Corruption Bureau are turning a blind eye to the complaints lodged in this regard by civilians. In the recent past, a real-estate developer wrote a confession to the ACB and the chief minister expressing his willingness to reveal the bribes paid by him to municipal officers and MLA for promoting illegal floors, but there has been no cognisance of it, the PIL further alleged.

It blamed politician for illegal constructions and said the land-sharks have political backgrounds and they have partnerships with the municipal officers and local MLAs. The petitioner has also urged the state government and Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis to take necessary steps to form a special force to tackle the spate of illegal structures being built on day-to-day basis in the municipal limits.

The petition alleged that there have been over 75,000 illegal constructions in the KDMC’s jurisdiction in the last 25 years.