October 22, 2025: Mumbai continues to grapple with widespread unauthorized constructions, ranging from slums to multi-storeyed towers, highlighting systemic collusion between politicians, bureaucrats, and builders. While homebuyers occasionally receive relief, fraudulent builders often escape accountability, leaving citizens burdened and urban planning compromised.
As Vivekanand Gupta noted in his article “A Tale of Unauthorized Occupancy – Mumbai,” the scenario illustrates an “unholy alliance between selfish politicians, smart bureaucrats & unscrupulous builders.” Slum-dwellers and homebuyers frequently become hostages of this system, with temporary relief measures offered while the real culprits remain untouched. Gupta observed that politicians often gain public approval for protecting residents from eviction, yet the underlying network of corruption thrives, allowing unauthorized construction to flourish for decades.
In Kalyan Dombivali, builders allegedly used fake KDMC approvals to register 65 projects covering thousands of families with MahaRERA. Despite this, no action has been taken against KDMC or MahaRERA officials or local politicians. The High Court ordered demolition of these buildings, leaving residents—who paid full price and registered agreements—vulnerable. Gupta questions why these buildings could not have been regularised and why government authorities allowed the projects to remain unpunished.
Similar issues persist in Thane and Vasai-Virar. Even when homebuyers are offered relief, municipal authorities continue collecting extra property taxes and water charges, while builders go scot-free. Regularization schemes impose penalties and premiums based on current Ready Reckoner rates rather than rates at the time of occupation, raising further concerns of fairness.
Gupta’s pointed critique asks: “What action is being taken by the Government against these fraud builders who have defrauded and cheated the honest homebuyers and the municipal authorities? Total Amnesty for them? Kis Khushime, Bhau?” The narrative underscores that mere relief for residents does not resolve the deeper problem of collusion, leaving Mumbai’s urban governance challenged and its homebuyers in a precarious position.
Source: The Free Press Journal
