Mumbai: The Bombay high court has directed demolition of five illegal buildings which were partially built on government land near Bhiwandi. The HC has also directed the purported landowners and the builder to jointly deposit Rs 8 crore, which would be distributed, on a pro rata basis, to the flat purchasers in the ground-plus-three-storey buildings.
The court noted that there is “no question about regularising such gross illegalities brazenly perpetrated by respondents (land owners and developers)”. The court has also kept the option open for the flat purchasers to recover the damages by suing the purported landowners, Sharad Madhavi and Shekhar Madhvi, and builder Chandrakant Kherade of Saidham Developers.
The court has directed the Thane Collector to oversee the distribution of the amount to the flat purchasers within two months.
The HC was hearing a 2019 petition filed by two local residents, Sunil Madhavi and Avinash Madhvi, seeking demolition of the five buildings in village Kalher in Bhiwandi contending that they were constructed without proper permission of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), which is the planning authority for Kasheli and Kalher villages. The petition stated that the buildings were constructed on land, part of which belonged to the government. Under the guise of reconstructing an old house spread over 200 sqft, the buildings had a built up area of over 40,000 sqft.
The Bhiwandi tehsilar had issued a demolition order in December 2013, however, the revenue authorities and the MMRDA failed to take any action. The developer, in the meantime, created third party rights in the buildings.
The developer however alleged that the petition was filed out of vendetta as there were civil disputes between the petitioners and the (purported) land owner. Contending that the construction was legal, the developer said they acquired necessary permission from the village panchayat in 2010. At the time, the developer contended, the village panchayat was competent to grant construction permission.
The court dismissed the arguments observing that the respondents have “illegally and brazenly constructed five buildings at Kalher to defraud purchasers and the Government”.
“The permissions issued by the Kasheli Panchayat do not relate to the constructions put up at the site. The Panchayat was not even authorised to issue such permissions post-17th March 2007. MMRDA, the competent planning authority for the area, has not issued a single permission, as none was even applied for,” a bench of Justices MS Sonak and Kamal Khata said on July 25.
The court has directed the Thane district collector to recover Rs8 crore from the respondents; prepare a report with details of the flat purchasers and amounts paid by them for the flats. The money then has to be distributed amongst the flat purchasers on a pro rata basis. The court has said that the flat purchasers to sue the developer and claim compensation and damages. The HC has called for a compliance report on February 15, 2025
