Raze all illegal bungalows on Alibaug coast in one week: Bombay HC

A bench of chief justice Pradeep Nandrajog and justice Nitin Jamdar also directed Raigad revenue authorities to produce interim orders passed by local courts that restrained authorities from pulling down the offending structures.

The Bombay high court on Wednesday directed the Raigad collector to demolish within a week all illegal bungalows, which are not protected by interim orders passed by local courts, along the Alibaug coast.

A bench of chief justice Pradeep Nandrajog and justice Nitin Jamdar also directed Raigad revenue authorities to produce interim orders passed by local courts that restrained authorities from pulling down the offending structures. (HT FILE)

The court was acting on a public interest litigation (PIL) that complained about hundreds of bungalows constructed by wealthy Mumbai residents along the coast. These bungalows, the PIL said, flout Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) norms.

A bench of chief justice Pradeep Nandrajog and justice Nitin Jamdar also directed Raigad revenue authorities to produce interim orders passed by local courts that restrained authorities from pulling down the offending structures.

The judges were irked to note that revenue officials were unmoved although private individuals had encroached on government lands.

“This is a free nation, which does not mean that this is muft ka nation. Government property does not come for free,” said the bench.

The assistant government pleader, however, clarified that in these cases, lands are private, but the constructions flout CRZ norms.