Code of conduct puts brakes on VVCMC demolition
The land in question, measuring 30 acres, was used by Sitaram Gupta, a former corporator, and his son Arun Gupta who constructed the buildings by producing bogus planning permissions, purportedly obtained from CIDCO,
MUMBAI: Poonam Chaurasiya, 29, sold her jewellery and took loans from her relatives to buy a one-BHK flat in Jai Ambe Welfare Society in Nalasopara East’s Agarwal Nagar. Bought around 20 years ago, the flat cost ₹5.5 lakh. “We were thrilled to have an ownership home but now we are spending sleepless nights,” said a distraught Chaurasiya, who spent years repaying the loans. “We won’t have money even to rent a house if we lose this flat.”
Vegetable vendor Navin Chauhan, 41, who stays in Shiv Darshan Building in the same locality, earns ₹300 daily. He bought the 450-square-feet house 12 years ago for ₹8 lakh. “If I lose this house, my family and I will have to sleep on the street,” he said. “Most of my earnings are spent on my family’s daily needs—where will I get money for rent or deposit? ”
Like Chaurasiya and Chauhan, around 8,000 other residents of the 41 unauthorised buildings of Jai Ambe Welfare Society have been living in anxiety, as the Vasai-Virar Municipal Corporation (VVMC) had decided to go ahead with the demolition of the illegal buildings this week. However, because of the election code of conduct, the civic body on Tuesday had to apply to the Election Commission for permission to go ahead with the demolition drive.
A recent Supreme Court order stated that the authorities should explore the possibility of rehabilitating the occupants, although they were at liberty to go ahead with the demolition as ordered by the Bombay high court. “We have asked for the advice of the Election Commission so that we can follow the Supreme Court order and proceed with the demolitions,” said a VVMC officer.
The high court had observed that the buildings were “wholly illegal and unauthorised and constructed on land reserved for a sewage treatment plant and dumping ground”. It refused to consider regularisation of the buildings, as sought by the builder. The deadline for evicting the occupants was September 30.
The land in question, some of which was privately owned, measures 30 acres. In 2006, Sitaram Gupta, a former corporator, and his son Arun Gupta began constructing the buildings by producing bogus planning permissions, purportedly obtained from CIDCO, which was the special planning authority for some of the areas, and the VVCMC for one of the buildings. Sitaram Gupta was arrested in September 2022.
Even though the demolition has been stalled, the residents of Jai Ambe Welfare Society continue to live in dread, knowing it is only temporary. Two organisations, the Agri Sena and the Hindavi Swaraj Pratishthan, are working to sort out the issue of their rehabilitation.
In the past two years, the VVCMC has registered complaints against over 660 illegal buildings constructed across the Vasai-Virar region. In all, 199 FIRs have been registered against builders.
When asked about the status of these buildings and their residents, additional municipal commissioner Ramesh Manale said it was not possible to rehabilitate thousands of residents. “At present, we are talking to the builders and trying to regularise the buildings that fall within the guidelines issued under the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act,” he said. “We are waiting for the charge-sheets to be filed in the 199 cases and the court to give a verdict before we can take a decision.”