MTDC owns about 128 acres of land in Gorai in survey nos. 46, 53,54,56,57,59. Some person called Dashrath Chavan informed MTDC about the encroachment on its land. He said he had struck a deal with a couple — Dinesh Pavle and his wife Fatima — for a big plot for Rs 20 lakh last year and paid them Rs 12 lakh. However, locals later told Chavan that there was a legal tangle over its ownership.
The said scam was exposed after MTDC officials were told in May about encroachment on the land. MTDC had tried to consolidate its landholding in the area in 2007, but the exercise was halted after locals went to court. The court had ordered that no construction of any kind would be done on the land without its permission.
Sanjay Dhekane, Sr. Manager Legal & Personnel of MTDC said, “The moment we were tipped of we carried out a survey. It was found that 20-25 guntha [a guntha is about .025 acre] from survey no. 53 had been encroached upon and a house had been built on it.”
Following a complaint by the tourism corporation, the local police launched a probe and found Pavle and his wife had made forged papers to pass off the land as their inherited property.
Adv. Ganesh Sudhir Vaidya, “Basically if a buyer understands that any property, he is dealt with is the government has undertaken a zone; then he will not buy it. The seller in such a situation should give an idea to the customer before transacting. The customer also must use his right to information about the land or property before he agrees. In such cases, the giver or dealer should not cheat his client.”
The couple made bogusly papers to show that the land belonged to their family. Police and MTDC are investigating the matter; meanwhile obtaining property search records from the office of the sub-registrar of assurances is a must if you are a buyer or seller.
A buyer has to give public notice in 2 leading newspapers, one in English and the other in the local language, giving 14 days to file written objections along with documentary evidence subtending ownership rights of the property, none of the above was taken into consideration by the seller or buyer.
Vijay Nalavade, Property Developer, “See the one who takes over a property. Firstly, one has to carefully study the site papers. He has to take advice from his advocacy. A big deal is never done with blind eyes. By the ministerial contacts will manage and digest this land in the government zone is the loophole these parties hide play with. Normally they think this assumption of Government land will be put easily in their pockets. Then when it’s an issue and the matte is hot, they start playing hide and seek.”
“The one who is fooled should appeal to the court. At first, he should register a petition on the injustice he has experienced,” said Raja Shirsat, Real Estate Broker.
“Meet the advocate first. Get a Land property search Report. A search report traces the history of a property that was the original owner of the property and how it has moved hands over some time before reaching the present seller. NOC is an important factor. Now when the money gets transferred from you can understand where the money is going in a private account or government account. These are the vital and important points one has to be careful of,” said Shiv Singh, Real Estate Manager.
“We had a piece of land at Gorai allotted by the Collector. We have found out some encroachments are happening there. We got a Complaint from Dashrath Chavan that some proxy specimen pretending to be this landowner is dealing in business to sell this property. We have then filed an FIR through Gorai Police Station. The Cops are investigating the matter,” said Sanjay Dhekane, Sr. Manager Legal & Personnel of MTDC.
“We haven’t got any such Information. On this issue and nobody or no one will be able to say anything on this matter. The ITDC has not got any such information on this,” said Ankush, ITDC, Chief Vigilant Officer (Dept).
