Rane loses plea in SC, will demolish illegal parts of Juhu bungalow

Speaking to the Hindustan Times on Wednesday, the BJP MP said, “We will comply with the SC order and we are making changes in the bungalow accordingly. We have given a letter to the BMC.” Rane’s bungalow, ‘Aadish’, is located on the sea front at Juhu

Mumbai: Union minister Narayan Rane, who lost a plea in the Supreme Court some weeks ago regarding the illegalities in his Juhu bungalow, has given a letter to the BMC’s K East ward office, stating that he is complying with the apex court order.

Rane loses plea in SC, will demolish illegal parts of Juhu bungalow

Speaking to the Hindustan Times on Wednesday, the BJP MP said, “We will comply with the SC order and we are making changes in the bungalow accordingly. We have given a letter to the BMC.” Rane’s bungalow, ‘Aadish’, is located on the sea front at Juhu.

A senior officer of K West ward corroborated that the illegal part was being demolished by Rane, and said that the BMC would report the progress to the court.

On September 26 this year, the Supreme Court had refused to stay an order of the Bombay high court ordering the demolition of parts of Rane’s bungalow, and had given him three months to comply with the order. The HC had on September 20 turned down his request to retain a portion of the property facing demolition, and ordered the latter to begin within two weeks. Rane, through his family-owned company, Kaalkaa Real Estate Private Limited, had questioned the high court decision in the apex court and sought a stay on the demolition.

The property in question, Aadish, is the residential property of Rane located in Juhu, Mumbai, covering 1187.84 square metres. Rane’s contention was that he got an occupation certificate from the BMC in 2013.

Santosh Daundker, an RTI activist, had first approached the BMC in 2016 regarding the illegalities in the property. He said the civic body began pursuing the matter seriously in 2017.

Earlier this year, the BMC issued notices under Section 351(IA) of the BMC Act alleging change of user of some parts of the property held to be unauthorised under the law. Rane’s objections submitted in March were not heeded by the BMC, following which the former Maharashtra chief minister approached the Bombay high court.

The BMC’s case was that the areas that were free of floor space index (FSI) under the original plans were put to use by Rane and, thus, the use of such portions without factoring them into the FSI calculation was illegal.

Rane moved two applications for the regularisation of the portion that the BMC said was unauthorised. His latest representation, moved on July 11, was pending with the authorities. But the high court, by its September 20 order, dismissed Rane’s petition and went on to dismiss his application of July 11, paving the way for the demolition of the portion. The court also imposed costs of ₹10 lakh.