The Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) has initiated action after allegedly detecting unauthorised occupation at the under-construction Veer Sambhaji Nagar Slum Rehabilitation (SRA) project in Mulund. The inspection revealed that several people were residing in the building despite the lack of mandatory occupation or completion certificates.
Following the findings, the Mulund Police registered a First Information Report (FIR) against Mahesh Madival, a member of the housing society, and other unidentified individuals for allegedly creating unauthorised residential units, renting them out and collecting rent.
The case was filed based on a complaint lodged by Vilas Shantaram Gondhali, 48, site manager with B Right, which is supervising the redevelopment project on behalf of Farewell Real Estate Pvt Ltd. The FIR has been registered under the provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
According to the FIR, the redevelopment project was originally awarded to Sai Construction in 2011. Although the developer constructed a 10-storey building, the project remained incomplete. In 2017, Farewell Real Estate Pvt Ltd took over the stalled redevelopment and has since continued construction.
Despite the ongoing work, the building has not yet received occupation or completion certificates or any other statutory approvals required for residents to move in.
The issue came to light after the SRA’s Executive Engineer informed the developer that a joint inspection carried out on June 25 by officials from the SRA, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s T Ward and the Mulund Police had found several people occupying portions of the under-construction building. Authorities also received complaints from local residents regarding alleged illegal activities at the site.
A subsequent internal inquiry reportedly found that Madival had constructed an unauthorised residential unit on the first floor, where he was allegedly residing along with others. Investigators also alleged that additional unauthorised units were created on the second floor and rented out to unidentified occupants.
Authorities further alleged that rent was being collected from these occupants despite the building not being legally fit for occupation.
Police have launched an investigation to ascertain the extent of the alleged unauthorised construction and identify other individuals involved in the matter.
Source: The Free Press Journal
