26 FIRs filed against unscrupulous real estate developers

MIDC have been lodged Twenty three FIRs at the Rabale MIDC police station errant real estate developers, who have used the government land to cheat poor or low income group buyers in Digha, whereas; another three FIRs were lodged against illegal buildings in Digha and case was filed by Brajesh Mishra, a social activist, under MRTP (Maharashtra Regional Town Planning Act) act.  Till now police has arrested four of the accused builders and have sent them to jail after high court slammed the authorities for their lax attitude.

Apart from that the demolition drive which was aims to clear 90 illegal buildings as they were on the land of MIDC, has still pending because residents of these buildings are in the process to obtain stay orders from the court. The two buildings which were targeted by demolition team of MIDC are; Moreshwar Apartment and Ambika Building have got stay till December 31, 2015 and all of these things are delaying the action of MIDC. According to P B Chavan, the Executive Engineer of MIDC, “Our demolition team is ready with action plan to take proper strike, and we have served the seven-day notice to the building owners, residents, but they have ample of time to seek the court’s help and, derailing our plan. Ans it has happen more than once since December 1, 2015 when we were supposed to start demolition, but now at this point of time we are unsure when to start the drive.

It is reported that three buildings were razed in October, 2015 by MIDC, rendering over a 100 families homeless. On the other side a coordination committee, which comprise of CIDCO, NMMC and MIDC officials, has also been constituted as per court order with an aim to verify property documents and FIRs allegation before demolish them.

Navi-Mumbai

In a major shock to the city, NCP, the ruling party in Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) has voted against Navi Mumbai being considered for the SmartCity project. The NCP corporators in the general body meeting on Tuesday refused to support the administration’s proposal for SmartCity.

The Corporators said that they are contesting the move because the NMMC would have barely any role in implementing the project as it will be completely operated and controlled by a Special Purpose Vehicle employed by the Central Govt.

This may result in NMMC being knocked out of the SmartCity competition this year.

Image Credits : DNA

Charging CIDCO & NMMC for corruption and systemic delays in clearance of various real estate development plans, the Builders Association of Navi Mumbai (BANM) protested outside their offices recently. The agitation was sparked by the suicide of Suraj Parmar, a prominent builder on October 7 whose suicide note revealed the harassment he suffered while dealing with various officials for his Thane-based realty projects.

Talking on the subject, Devang Trivedi, BANM said, “there is corruption at various levels in several departments of Cidco and NMMC, causing delays in construction plans.”

The files do not move through a particular department until the officials are given their ‘percentage cuts’, claimed Haresh Chheda, a builder.

The CIDCO spokesperson Mohan Ninawe however, disagreed and said that they are ready to take action against any corrupt official if the affected builders approach them. “We now have a competent vigilance department. Several administrative loopholes also have been tightened to speed up the clearance process. Besides, the number of clearances required to commence a real estate project have been brought down to four from nine earlier. ” He added.

He also stated that the latest online initiative of Cidco, the AutoDCR software, will not only allow them to scrutinize various building plans in advance but also enable developers to showcase their projects properly.