‘Probe how illegal structures got nod’

Mumbai: The Bombay high court on Monday expressed shock over illegal constructions along the seashore at Alibaug. The court asked how Nirav Modi, an accused in the Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam, and other rich people had been allowed to carry out illegal construction along the beach.

The court then directed the divisional commissioner (DC), Konkan region, to initiate an inquiry into how over 160 illegal private structures were permitted to be constructed along the beach. The court also directed the DC to submit a report within the next eight weeks, to the principal secretary, state revenue and forest department.

In its order, the bench directed the state government to file an affidavit detailing the findings of the above inquiry and the remedial steps initiated by the state.

The directions were made during the hearing of a petition filed by an activist Surendra Dhavale. The petition stated that authorities ignored the construction rules and rich people constructed unauthorised bungalows along with seashore. Mr Dhavale wanted directions from the court to demolish the said structures.

As per the petition, such construction had been carried out in violation of the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority rules and the land laws of the state government.

As per the plea, there are around 175 such private residences in CRZ areas in villages such as Varsoli, Sasvane, Kolgaon, and Dokvade, among other areas, in the Alibaug taluka, belonging to several “wealthy persons including Nirav Modi, and several businessmen and film actors.”

During a previous hearing in the matter, the bench had been informed that through an order passed in June this year, the authorities concerned had dropped all proceedings against Modi’s bungalow and closed the file.