Mumbai: Chawl mafia back in business; police, civic officials yet to act

The alleged inaction of authorities against the chawlbuilder mafias of Vasai has paved the way for them to be back in business with a new promise of offering homes to potential buyers under government schemes The land mafias who were flourishing in a locality near Vasai railway station had to shut shop after middayrsquos investigative story on July 19 The State Human Rights Commission took cognisance of middayrsquos report and summoned six top babus after filing a suo motu case based on itBut neither the local police nor civic officials have bothered to take action against the mafiasDigambar Desai senior advocateExcorporator of Shiv Sena Kiran Chendvankar said ldquoI had said that these builders would make a comeback in the same area The police and civic officials are passing the buck when I asked them if action was taken against the builders after middayrsquos report Today the builders have come up with another banner promising homes under government schemes Who knows if they are also selling the unauthorised constructions in the garb of Pradhan Mantri Avas YojanardquoldquoAfter learning that the Vasai builders are back in business I spoke to the police commissioner who said lsquohow can we take action against a person if shehe gives herhis property on rent to someone to run an officersquo Crime branch officers told me that if the builders have reopened their offices then they cannot take action against them but if they have cheated someone and the victim is ready to complain against them then they can take actionrdquo she saidAnother shop allegedly belonging to the land mafia that had closed was seen open on SundayCivic officials ignoring issueThe land mafias have been razing hilltops illegally in connivance with civic officials for unauthorised constructions in Vasai taluka ldquoThe unauthorised constructions are rampant in the areas on private forest and municipal lands but the civic officials have turned a blind eye towards them Ideally the civic officials should have conducted a survey of the locations which midday highlighted and also published the photographs of construction materials on the ground But they have done nothing It raises several questions about their intentionsrdquoHeavy rain triggered a landslide in Vasai last month in which a man and his teenaged daughter died Though subsequently two FIRs were registered and a builder was arrested the mafias did not relentWhen asked if a suo motu case can be registered against chawlbuilder mafias based on middayrsquos report Commissioner of Police Mira Bhayandar Vasai Virar Sadanand Date said ldquoThe Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act cannot be launched without municipal or planning authorities complaintrdquoWhen told it is not only the violation of MRTP Act but also amounts to fraud as hundreds of potential home buyers are cheated by these mafias Date replied ldquoIf they civic body give a complaint then we can take cognisance Cheating needs a complainant to tell us a amount of loss b method of criminal misrepresentation of facts or breach of trustrdquoWhen asked if local police asked civic officials to file a complaint after middayrsquos report Date replied ldquoWe can do it now if it has not been done so farrdquoKiran Chendvankar former corporatorlsquoPolice must not waitrsquoSenior advocate Digambar Desai said the police need not wait for a civic official to file a complaint under MRTP Act ldquoWhenever a cognisable offence is brought to notice it is the responsibility of a policeman to file an FIR and conduct a thorough enquiry During investigation the officer can ask the municipal corporation to furnish documents to know if there is a violation of the MRTP Act and subsequently if there is cheating or fraud or anything is linked to the case Then the police can continue their investigation This is how the law goesrdquo Desai said ldquoThe police should take cognisance of the midday report and file an FIR and continue investigation If their investigation proves no illegal activity then they can file a closure report in the courtrdquoldquoAnybody can set the law in motion The police should have taken suo motu action against the builders and filed an FIR against them based on middayrsquos investigative story Prima facie from the newspaper report it seems there is substance that something illegal has happened On the basis of that report they can file an FIR they can ask the municipal corporation or any planning authority to furnish all the documents irrespective of authorised or unauthorised nature of the said structure Here automatically the municipal corporation has to give them the papers saying that as per our records all these structures are made without our permission which means MRTP provisions have been infringed and the cops can continue their investigationrdquo Desai concludedLast week the deputy municipal commissioner of VVCMC was pulled up by the SHRC chief at his court as no civic official had visited the spot where midday had done the investigation last month02No of people killed in the landslide in Vasai on July 13