Law breaking dyCM ignores notice, agency sends another

Mumbai, May 28: A governor and a deputy chief minister have broken building rules and still they get notice extending deadline for correcting the irregularities.

In Mumbai, where land is scarce and expensive, a host VVIPs like Punjab Governor Shivraj Patil, Maharshtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, BJP leader Gopinath Munde, Maharashtra Congress president Manikrao Thakre and Forest Minister Patangrao Kadam have been sent notice for making illegal alterations and conversions to their properties.

The properties are flats and offices in the 14-storey Sukhada and 32-floor Shubhada buildings in upmarket Worli.
An earlier deadline set on April 4 and April 12 to remove the irregularities ended on May 12 and the BMC has given the top law-makers three more months to correct irregularities.

According to the Indian Express, the BMC notices issued last month under Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning (MRTP) Act, after IPS officer-lawyer YP Singh and social activist Amit Maru raised the issue, target society members who converted convenience stores into offices and even gymnasiums. Most notices were for alterations on the ground floor of Shubhada.

Kadam received a notice for joining three shops in Sukhada into a gymnasium, while Ajit Pawar received two - one for converting two shops in Shubhada into a gymnasium and the other for converting a shop into an office.

Munde firm NV Distilleries received a notice for combining a shop and a basement room into an office.

"We have received a three-month extension to regularise the structures and will ensure the irregularities are removed. In our case, the irregularities are minor. We are expecting BMC allows us to regularise the structure," Munde's office said.

The buildings, which mostly house politicians, first attracted flak because the state government tweaked rules to allow additional floors.

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