MUMBAI: Bombay High Court directed the Thane municipal commissioner to hold discussions with high officials of electricity supply companies to identify power supplies to illegal constructions and to immediately probe and hold responsible civic officers who provide water connection to such constructions.
Power supply to illegal buildings amounts to a “national loss” and “water supply to illegal buildings certainly is a public loss of a high magnitude in the recent times of water scarcity,” said Justices Girish Kulkarni and Arif Doctor.
TMC said it enforced earlier HC orders and demolished 21 illegal buildings with “sophisticated modern machinery” and identified 124 illegal constructions to date in nine wards.
TMC, through senior counsel Ashutosh Kumbhakoni, said it issued a circular on July 3 to enforce the requirement of a QR code at construction sites to enable buyers to know building plans and permissions. Two big builders have such a QR code at their sites, the HC was told.
Thane has a large green zone, and HC expressed its distress at the extent of encroachment. The ecological sensitive area under the sector is 2,656 hectares, of which over 36 hectares—almost 3%—is encroached, said HC, noting it was very disturbing. TMC ought to take actions to their logical conclusion against its officials who shield or aid such illegal constructions or encroachments, the HC said.
HC stated: “Electricity supply companies would also be under a legal duty to verify the documents that the construction to which electricity supply is applied for, is authorised and a legal construction. Merely on certain undertakings and affidavits, electricity supply cannot be granted. Such an issue needs serious consideration.”
HC, though, praised the TMC commissioner for action taken since its previous orders and said it was shocking that illegalities were taking place in the open, but the civic chief was kept unaware by his officers, who “concealed” the facts from him. To ensure TMC is kept aware, the HC constituted a permanent vigilance committee to fix accountability and prevent unauthorised constructions leading to persons purchasing houses in illegal constructions. “Such colossal fraud by the developers and by those who have means to purchase tenements in illegal construction should be a thing of the past,” the HC said in a group of petitions argued by advocates Yousuf Khan and Juzer Udaipuri that highlighted widespread illegal constructions in Thane.
HC expressed shock over the sale of flats on notarised agreements, noting the huge loss to the state exchequer with no stamp duty and registration fees. The builders are not only defrauding the public but also the state, said the HC, placing the matter for priority hearing on Aug 4.
