‘Mumbai Housing & Area Development Authority’ (MHADA) has issued show cause notice to contractor M/s B.G. Shirke, seeking clarification on 29 illegal floors constructed in “i Cooperative Housing Society at Kalina in Mumbai. An RTI query by activist Anil Galgali had revealed how 29 illegal floors in housing top 84 bureaucrats of Maharashtra had come up, which had legal permission to construct a three floor building.
The building was named ‘Maitri’ (Friendship), signifying the alliance between the powerful ‘Babus of Mantralaya’ and one of the biggest contractor of Maharashtra Ms. B.G. Shirke, who has been assigned the task of construction. Eighty four allottees of the building are Government Servants and include Chief Minister’s Secretary Pravin Darade, Bipin Shrimali, Harshdeep Kamble, Sudhir Thackeray, Abhimanyu Kale, Deepak Kapoor, Rajesh Narvekar and Jawahar Singh.
Now, these bureaucrats are hoping that BMC Commissioner Ajoy Mehta will not retort to severe action like demolition of the illegal floors. ‘Maitri’ Building had been granted permission by BMC to construct 2 floors in A-Wing and 3 floors in the B-Wing of the building. But the builder brazenly constructed 12 floors, without even waiting for the requisite BMC permission for additional floors.
Galgali had made an RTI application to BMC & MHADA on 21st October 2016 for obtaining details of the building. The reply dated 4th February 2016 revealed that M/s B.G. Shirke was given a tender to construct the 12 floor building at a cost of Rs 36.50 crores. It was to have 150 flats of 1279.52 square feet area and another 76 flats of 1310.52 square feet. Apart from 76 original members of ‘Maitri Cooperative Housing Society’, 15 flats were to be given to Government nominees.
Deputy Chief Engineer of ‘Building-proposal special cell’ revealed that a formal proposal to regularise the building has been received from MHADA and has been put up before the BMC Commissioner. Galgali has appealed to the Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Municipal Commissioner Ajoy Mehta to strike down this proposal and also initiate strict action against the builder and the Society under provisions of ‘Maharashtra Regional Town Planning Act’.
