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Hindustan Times
3 days ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
HC orders demolition of illegal 6-storey building in Kalyan
MUMBAI: The Bombay high court has directed the Kalyan Dombivali Municipal Corporation (KDMC) to take appropriate steps to demolish an illegal six-storeyed building at Govindwadi in Kalyan within two months. A demolition notice was issued to the building in August 2024, but no action was taken against it thereafter, which could embolden others to construct similar buildings without first obtaining the necessary permissions, the court said, (Shutterstock) The division bench of justices GS Kulkarni and Arif Doctor was hearing a petition filed by Safwan Jafar Hussain Sayyad, a local resident. On July 23, 2024, Sayyad had filed a complaint with the ward officer of ward 3C and the KDMC commissioner, claiming a ground-plus-six storeyed building, Siyam Villa, had been constructed illegally without any planning permission, and requested the civic authorities to take appropriate action against it. Accordingly, on August 6, 2024, KDMC officials issued a show cause notice to the builder, asking them to explain during a personal hearing if the said building was a legal structure and provide supporting documents. Failure to provide an explanation and documents would result in appropriate legal action, the builder was told. Since Sayyad's complaint was not addressed over the next two months, in October 2024, he submitted a representation to civic officials and subsequently approached the high court, contending that the inaction made it clear that KDMC officers were hand-in-glove with the developer. Section 260 of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act mandates that the municipal bodies must take action against illegally constructed buildings and accordingly, the KDMC should take the demolition notice to its logical end, the plea stated. The developer resisted the petition, contending that they had applied to the KDMC for regularisation of the building in July 2024 and since the application was pending, there was no question of taking any action during pendency of the plea. Being owners of the plot on which the building stood, they had constructed the building adhering to Floor Space Index norms and pursuant to their application for its regularisation, the assistant commissioner, KDMC, had issued a notice dated February 24, 2025, granting them a personal hearing, the developer said. However, responding to a court query, the developer's counsel conceded that no planning permission had been obtained before commencing construction of the building. 'The said building being wholly illegal, must first be demolished, and after which, the developers if they so desire may apply for a permission, and if such permission is sanctioned, carry on construction in accordance with such permission,' the court said. The bench directed the KDMC to execute the demolition notice issued in August 2024 within two months by following due processes of law.
Time of India
7 days ago
- Time of India
Three KDMC officials held in same-day ACB raids in Thane; one sought Rs 60k for drainage clearance, others took Rs 20k for staff reinstatement
KALYAN: In a major anti-corruption crackdown, three officials from the Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC) were caught red-handed accepting bribes in two separate raids conducted by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Thursday. In the first case, the Thane ACB team arrested Chief Sanitation Inspector Vasant Deghulkar and Sanitation Inspector Sudarshan Jadhav while they were accepting a bribe of Rs 20,000 to reinstate a sick employee who had been on leave. The trap was laid at the KDMC office located in Sarvodaya Mall, following a complaint by the employee. In the second case, Junior Engineer Ravindra Ahire was caught accepting a bribe of Rs 40,000 from a petrol pump owner. According to the ACB, Ahire had demanded Rs 60,000 on 17 July in exchange for granting permission to build a drainage line for the petrol pump from the sewerage department. Acting on the complaint, the ACB laid a trap and caught Ahire red-handed while taking the bribe in his car near Birla College in Kalyan. Authorities said both raids were carried out on the same day and investigations are ongoing.
Time of India
13-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Illegal building that came up on land of Ambedkar heir in Kalyan demolished, plot reclaimed: Minister
Mumbai: State revenue minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule told the Legislative Assembly that a multi-storey illegal building came up in Kalyan on land owned by Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar's heir, Yashwant Bhimrao Ambedkar, and is currently registered in the name of Prakash Ambedkar and others. Bawankule was replying to a question raised by MLAs Aslam Shaikh, Vijay Wadettiwar, Nana Patole, and Vishwajit Kadam, among others. Bawankule admitted that Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC) allowed illegal construction on around 3200 sq mt of land. "72 flats and 8 commercial units were allowed to be constructed on the land. But the revenue department got the entire construction demolished. The vacant land has been handed over to the Ambedkars. I briefed the CM on this case, and we will conduct a probe against the officials," Bawankule said. He stated that the building was declared unauthorized by the KDMC in 2023, and the building, Tanishka Residency, was completely demolished by the corporation in June 2025. "A complaint was received by the municipal corporation regarding the construction of a building called 'Tanishka Residency' by Lalit Mahajan and others on the land of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar's heir, Yashwant Bhimrao Ambedkar, in Kalyan. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Gold Is Surging in 2025 — Smart Traders Are Already In IC Markets Learn More Undo A notice was issued on February 10, 2023, under Sections 260 and 267 (1) of the Maharashtra Municipal Corporation Act, and a hearing was scheduled for February 17, 2023. As the developers did not submit any documents regarding the authorisation of the said building at the time of the hearing, the building was declared unauthorized by the Municipal Corporation. The construction of the unauthorised Tanishka Residency was completely demolished by the Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation from May 20, 2025, to June 13, 2025," Bawankule said in his reply on Friday. You Can Also Check: Mumbai AQI | Weather in Mumbai | Bank Holidays in Mumbai | Public Holidays in Mumbai "The plots are currently registered in the names of Prakash Yashwant Ambedkar and others, the heirs of Yashwant Bhimrao Ambedkar, and no transfer of any kind has been made regarding the said property, nor have the names of third parties been registered," Bawankule said in his reply. Bawankule mentioned that this land belonged to Dr Ambedkar's kin and was usurped. Shaikh said that those who constructed the illegal building should be booked under the MPDA. "This is a classic case of land mafia. This is the case of relatives of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar. This shows how powerful the land mafia is. When we raised the issue, only then did the demolition start. How can a multi-storey building come up without permissions? Officials who allowed this illegal construction must be suspended. This is the case across Mumbai too, where govt land is being sold," Shaikh said.
Hindustan Times
11-07-2025
- Hindustan Times
CBI files closure report in one more case against former CP Param Bir Singh
MUMBAI: In a relief to former Mumbai police commissioner (CP) Param Bir Singh and 32 others, the Central Bureau of Investigation has filed a closure report in a 2022 case based on a complaint lodged by a police inspector. The CBI said that the allegations of the inspector, B R Ghadge, who worked under Singh when he was Thane CP, 'could not be substantiated' and the case was sought to be closed for 'want of evidence'. Mumbai, India – August 31, 2018: Maharashtra ADG Param Bir Singh with Pune's Additional CP Shivaji Bodke (L) Dr. Shivaji Pawar (R) at a press conference about the house arrest of rights activists in Bhima Koregaon case, at DGP office, in Mumbai, India, on Friday, Aug 31, 2018. (Photo by Bhushan Koyande/HT) (HT PHOTO) Among the 33 accused were 17 former and serving police officials and a few law officers and forensic officials. In January 2024, the CBI had submitted a closure report in another case, one of five cases against Singh and others, which it took over from the Kopri police station in Thane on the orders of the Supreme Court. When contacted, Singh told Hindustan Times, 'I only want to say: Satyamev Jayate (Truth alone triumphs)'. The former CP said that all the five cases against him were fabricated and registered at the behest of a former Mumbai police commissioner and some other police officers, and that criminal elements had been contacted to implicate him in the cases. The CBI closure report states that the complainant Ghadge had alleged that when he was probing a case concerning the Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC) registered with the Bazarpeth police station, Singh, on April 15, 2015, verbally directed him to send the report to the commissioner of KDMC, delete the name of the accused, and remove certain sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act from the case. Ghadge stated that after his refusal to do so, he was implicated in five police cases, including an Arms Act case, and was suspended from service as a result. The CBI also looked into Ghadge's other allegation that illegal directions on the Bazarpeth case were given to him again over the phone by Singh on April 22, 2015. The CBI's closure report, a copy of which is with HT, states that the April 15 and April 22 allegations were both unsubstantiated. The CBI probe found that Ghadge, along with D Kiratkar, his then colleague, had been called to Singh's office with the Bazarpeth case documents for discussion. Later, Kiratkar allegedly stated that after the discussion, when Ghadge came out of Singh's chamber, he informed him that Singh had directed him to favour some KDMC officials in the case. The CBI probe, however, concluded that Kiratkar's statement was 'only hearsay'. The closure report also states that as Kiratkar was an accused in a 2015 bribery case, his version 'could not be relied upon for being an interested party'. The report also states that Singh had told the complainant that if the KDMC officers had committed any irregularity, a lapse report in that respect should be sent to the KDMC commissioner, and in case money had exchanged hands to help builders, to send a report to the anti-corruption department and inform him as early as possible. 'The directions of April 22, 2015, do not contain elements of any criminality on the part of Param Bir Singh,' says the closure report. The assertion of the complainant that he had reported the alleged illegal directions received over the phone to Chandrakant Thorat, the then ACP, also has no corroboration, the closure report states. Thorat allegedly stated that the complainant did inform him about the call received from Singh but the contents of the discussion were not shared with him. Referring to the complainant's submission of CDs in this connection, the CBI said that they too could not substantiate the allegations of illegal verbal directions. The CBI also dubbed as 'unsubstantiated' Ghadge's allegation that Sanjay Jadhav, the then Thane deputy commissioner of police, Zone 03, did not allow the arrests of accused persons in the 2013 Bazarpeth police case. Jadhav told the CBI that Ghadge had not sought permission from him for the arrest of any accused person, and also stated that Ghadge had directly written a letter to Ravinder Kumar Singhal, the then Thane city additional commissioner of police, Crime. 'In response to the said letter, Singhal…sent a letter to Ghadge, saying that he (Ghadge) was the investigating officer of the case and the competent authority to make any arrest,' states the closure report. During the investigation, the CBI also examined the facts and circumstances of the five cases against Ghadge to ascertain if they were registered without legal justifications. The investigative body could not find evidence to substantiate Ghadge's allegations that they were false cases registered against him on the directions of Singh after he refused to follow his orders in the Bazarpeth case. However, the CBI also pointed out that the trial courts took cognisance of all of them, and ultimately Ghadge was discharged in four of the five cases.
Hindustan Times
06-07-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
HC orders demolition of 6-storey illegal building in Kalyan
MUMBAI: The Bombay high court last week directed the Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC) to proceed with the planned demolition of an illegal building in Kalyan. The KDMC had declared the building unauthorised in August 2019 and planned to demolish it, but the delay prompted the land owner, Baban Kene, to approach court to speed up the process. Kene also sought a penalty against the developer who built the illegal structure and the civic officials who failed to act against it. (Shutterstock) A division bench of justices GS Kulkarni and Arif Doctor noted that the building, a ground-plus-six-storey structure in Ayare village near Kalyan, had been constructed without any planning permissions. KDMC officials admitted that the construction was illegal, carried out without obtaining any planning permissions, and the building was completed despite issuance of a stop-work notice. Municipal commissioner Indu Rani Jakhar told the court that the civic body was taking steps to get the illegal building vacated and would then demolish it. The civic body added that the residents of the building had approached the court asking for it to be regularised, a process where a building is certified even though it was built without the necessary approvals. The court, however, noted that it had rejected the residents' plea for regularisation and had issued a notice to the municipal corporation to proceed with the demolition. The court reiterated that occupants of illegal buildings do not have any legal rights and their pleas to protect such structures cannot be entertained by the court. The court added that the state government would be going against the law if they pass orders in favour of illegal buildings or their occupants. The court said, 'The state government cannot be called upon to take a position contrary to the provisions of the Maharashtra Regional Town Planning Act, which recognizes only lawful construction being put up by adhering to the established procedure as prescribed by the planning authority.' Since the occupants of the building have not vacated it despite several notices by the KDMC, the court gave them 15 days to vacate it and directed the civic body to take legal steps if needed, and to then proceed with the demolition.
