Dapoli resort can’t be demolished due to local court’s status quo: State to HC

The resort at Dapoli in Ratnagiri district, allegedly owned by Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Anil Parab, could not be demolished because of a status quo order passed by a civil court, the state government told the Bombay high court on Thursday

The resort at Dapoli in Ratnagiri district, allegedly owned by Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Anil Parab, could not be demolished because of a status quo order passed by a civil court, the state government told the Bombay high court on Thursday.

Dapoli, India - November 22, 2022: BJP leader Kirit Somaiya blows a symbolic hammer near Sai Resort, at Murud, in Dapoli taluka, India, on Tuesday, November 22, 2022. (HT PHOTO) (Hindustan Times)

An affidavit filed by Dapoli’s sub-divisional officer (SDO) Sharad Pawar also said the state would act in accordance with law and the petitioner’s apprehension that coercive action would be taken against him or the structure was baseless.

The HC has posted the matter for further hearing on January 9, 2023.

The affidavit was in response to a plea filed by Sadanand Kadam, who is in possession of Sai Resort NX, challenging the demolition notices issued by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change on January 1 and August 22.

Pawar said Kadam had urged the high court to quash the notices and restrain the collector and the SDO from taking any coercive steps against him or the structure.

The affidavit further said the SDO office had in 2017 issued a NA (non-agricultural) certificate for the plot after which construction of the resort commenced. However, after receiving a complaint of the construction being carried out in violation of Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) norms, his office took up a review of the NA certificate with the collector’s office in April 2021, Pawar said. Through an order issued on December 3, 2021, the certificate was cancelled by the additional collector, the affidavit added.

In May 2021, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Kirit Somaiya had filed a complaint with the collector against the unauthorised construction following which it was decided to initiate action under section 52 and 53 of the Maharashtra Regional Town Planning Act and the Environment Act, the affidavit said. A notice to that effect was issued to Kadam in June last year after which he filed a civil suit in Khed district court.

An order issued in July 2021 by the civil judge senior division directed the authorities to maintain status quo on the plot and the structure, Pawar said. Thereafter, the SDO office filed an application before the civil judge seeking dismissal of Kadam’s suit as the plot and the structure fell in no-development zone. However, it was rejected on October 11, 2022. Pawar claimed that the civil judge did not have the jurisdiction to adjudicate the suit as the issue came under the purview of the National Green Tribunal (NGT).

“Due to the status quo order, the demolition of the unauthorised construction has not been carried out till date. I further say this respondent [SDO] is trying to vacate the status quo order,” the affidavit added.

Last week, Somaiya filed an intervention application in Kadam’s petition. It said his complaint was based on the fact that the resort was constructed in violation of CRZ norms and though the NGT was the appropriate forum to decide the matter, the demolition could not be carried out because of the status quo order. Hence, the HC should direct the civil court to vacate it, he said.