Thane civic body identifies 909 illegal buildings, demolishes 175
MUMBAI, Aug. 20 -- The Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) identified 909 unauthorised buildings within its jurisdiction, demolished 175, and partially demolished 52. Of them, 740 were found in the Diva division, and 74 in the Kalwa-Mumbra division, the TMC told the Bombay High Court on Monday.
The slew of demolitions came in response to numerous petitions about the rampant land grabbing and illegal constructions in Diva and Mumbra divisions of the civic body. In an affidavit, the deputy municipal commissioner Shankar Patole said that the corporation has gotten 44 FIRs registered against builders involved in unauthorised constructions. The civic body has also cut off the water supply to 275 such buildings, and in 89 buildings, the functioning of borewells has been stopped.
The Bombay High Court on June 12 had ordered an inquiry into 17 allegedly unauthorised structures including multi-storied buildings, in Shil Daighar near Mumbra. The court had directed the deputy commissioner of the Diva ward office to remove the unauthorised structures and stop their water and electricity supply.
The court's orders came after a petition by Subhadra Takle, the owner of a 5.5-acre plot of land in Shil on which the 17 allegedly illegal structures had been constructed. When the TMC responded that those structures had already been declared illegal, the bench clarified that in such cases the civic body must not wait for court orders to take action. "The green zones and areas in which no construction is permissible ought to be safeguarded. If any construction has come up on such no-development areas it should be immediately removed," the bench said.
In its Monday affidavit, the TMC said that it had begun clearing away the debris from the demolitions using crushers.
The TMC added that a departmental enquiry will be launched against its officers to curb corrupt practices that have allowed illegal buildings to come up....
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