What did you do about it? Bombay High Court asks ex-BMC corporator who filed PIL against illegal construction

The Bombay High Court on Tuesday directed a former corporator of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader, who had filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) plea against an illegal construction in Mumbai, to file an affidavit detailing the actions he had taken against such structures during his tenure at the BMC..A Bench of Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice Bharati Dangre, upon learning that the petitioner was a former municipal representative, asked, "When you were a corporator, how many actions have you taken against illegal constructions?" The Court then directed him to submit an affidavit within two weeks.The Court also took a jab at the petitioner for filing a petition at the cusp of elections. "We understand the corporation is in an election mode and you may be in a hurry," it remarked..The case unfolds against the backdrop of long-pending elections to the BMC and 28 other municipal corporations across Maharashtra. While BMC’s term ended in March 2022, it has been under an administrator for over two and a half years, with elections expected in 2025. .The PIL, filed by Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Shrikrishna (Bala) Laxman Chavan, alleges that officials of the BMC colluded with builders and failed to act against unauthorized construction in Khar Danda.Chavan has sought a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into the alleged inaction of municipal officials, despite repeated demolition orders. According to the petition, an unauthorized ground-plus-three-storey structure has been built on a 20,000-square-foot open plot near the SNDT Nalla Pumping Station in Ward No. 99 under the H/West Ward. Despite a notice issued under Section 354A of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation (MMC) Act on April 29, 2024, followed by a speaking order on May 2, 2024, to stop illegal construction, it allegedly continued..Chavan has named several municipal officers in his PIL, including Assistant Commissioner Vinayak Vispute, Designated Officer Milind Kadam, and engineers Rahul Bodke and Aditya Jog, accusing them of deliberately failing to enforce the law. The PIL states that while the BMC initially demolished the illegal structure on May 4, 2024, it was reconstructed within days. Further demolitions took place on May 8 and May 15, but the structure kept reappearing, the plea says.A local resident, Mohammed Amin Shaikh had earlier lodged a complaint in the matter, but Chavan claims that municipal authorities ignored it, forcing him to escalate the matter to a public grievance committee meeting on August 2, 2024..The petition also accuses businessman Rohit Tilekar of fraudulently obtaining a stay order on demolition by misrepresenting ownership documents.Chavan alleges that Tilekar used forged documents of an entirely different property in the City Civil Court at Dindoshi to obstruct further action. Despite BMC’s awareness of the alleged forgery, he contends that officials have taken no decisive steps to remove the structure permanentlyHe has urged the court to order an SIT probe into the inaction of municipal officials on this issue. The PIL names the BMC, its municipal commissioner, the solid waste management department, and the Mumbai suburban collector as respondents. The Court is expected to hear the matter further after two weeks.