State to take action against illegal bungalows in Alibaug
The decision was taken after HC slammed govt, Raigad dist collector.
Mumbai: After the Bombay high court slammed the Maharashtra government as well as the Raigad district collector for being ‘ineffective’ in taking action against illegal bungalows in Alibaug, the state government has decided to immediately initiate action against these bungalows. The state environment minister, Ramdas Kadam, said that the 202 bungalows in Alibaug and Murud-Janjira would be razed.
The minister specifically said that the bungalow of fugitive diamond merchant Nirav Modi would be razed on priority basis. However, it has been observed that the action could take some time as the case is also being heard in the National Green Tribunal (NGT).
“Action will be taken against 202 bungalows in Alibaug and Murud-Janjira. These bungalows were built in violation of the Maharashtra Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) rules. I have asked officers to take immediate action against Nirav Modi’s bungalow,” said Mr Kadam.
Recently, a petition was filed by Raigad resident Surendra Dhavale, president of Sambhuraje Yuvakranti of Akhil Bhartiya Seva Sangh, in the Bombay high court seeking that the court direct authorities to demolish all unauthorised constructions “within the low and high tide areas” in a number of villages in Alibaug.
The petition stated that there are private residences owned by Bollywood actors and Modi in CRZ areas in villages such as Varsoli, Sasvane, Kolgaon and Dokvade, among others, all in Raigad district’s Alibaug taluka.
A division bench of Justice Abhay Oka and Justice Riyaz Chagala after hearing the petition had observed that Modi was granted permission to construct only on an area of around 390 sqm. However, his bungalow was constructed over an area of more than 1,000 sqm, he illegally constructed 610 sqm.
Further, the bench had noted that the collector and the sub-divisional officer “owe an explanation” to the court for failing to discharge their duties when it came to regulating unauthorised construction work in the coastal regulation zone areas.
Subsequently, the Raigad collector, Vijay Suryavanshi, claimed that action against 12 bungalows had been taken already.
According to the affidavit submitted by Mr Suryavanshi, Modi’s bungalow was built before 1986; a year when coastal regulation came into existence, so the action could not be taken on it.
Further, the same affidavit also informed the court that Central Bureau of Investigation has attached the bungalow of Modi in the Punjab National Bank fraud case due to which local authorities (Raigad collector) cannot take any action on it.