Former corporator moves HC for action against illegal construction at Khar Dhanda

The Bombay HC directed ex-Shiv Sena corporator Chavan to detail actions against illegal constructions during his BMC tenure in a PIL over Khar Danda issues.

MUMBAI: The Bombay high court on Tuesday directed a former Shiv Sena (UBT) corporator who has filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking action against an allegedly illegal construction near Khar Danda to file an affidavit detailing the action he took against such structures during his tenure at the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

Former corporator moves HC for action against illegal construction at Khar Dhanda

Upon learning that the petitioner, Shrikrishna Laxman Chavan, was a former municipal representative, a bench of chief justice Alok Aradhe and justice Bharati Dangre asked him about the period of his tenure and what action he had taken against illegal constructions. “When you were a corporator, how many actions have you taken against illegal constructions?” it said. The court directed him to file an affidavit listing the details within two weeks.

The court also took a jab at the petitioner for filing the petition months ahead of the BMC elections. “We understand the corporation is in an election mode, and you may be in a hurry,” it said.

The BMC is among 29 civic bodies in Maharashtra that will head to the polls towards the end of the year. Elections of these local bodies have been on hold since March 2022 due to petitions pending before the Supreme Court regarding providing Other Backward Classes (OBC) quotas. The civic bodies have been run by unelected administrators since then.

Chavan’s PIL, filed on January 31, alleged that BMC officials colluded with builders and failed to act against an unauthorised construction in Khar Danda — a ground-plus-three-storey structure built on a 20,000-square-foot open plot near the SNDT Nalla Pumping Station. The petition named the BMC, its commissioner, its solid waste management department, and the Mumbai suburban collector as respondents.

The PIL stated that while the BMC had demolished the illegal structure on May 4, 2024, it was reconstructed within days. Further demolitions took place on May 8 and May 15, but the structure kept reappearing, the plea said.

A local resident, Mohammed Amin Shaikh had earlier lodged a complaint in the matter, but Chavan claimed that municipal authorities ignored it, forcing him to escalate the matter to a public grievance committee meeting on August 2, 2024.

The petition also accused businessman Rohit Tilekar of fraudulently obtaining a stay order on the demolition by misrepresenting ownership documents. Chavan alleged that Tilekar used forged documents of an entirely different property in the City Civil Court at Dindoshi to obstruct further action.

Chavan claimed in his petition that BMC officials did not take steps to remove the structure permanently despite being aware of the alleged forgery. He has urged the court to order an SIT probe into the inaction of municipal officials.

The Shiv Sena (UBT) leader has named several current municipal officers in his PIL, including assistant commissioner Vinayak Vispute, designated officer Milind Kadam, and engineers Rahul Bodke and Aditya Jog, accusing them of deliberately failing to enforce the law.

The court is expected to hear the matter further after two weeks.