July 30: Justice Ashok Agarwal of Bombay High Court has admitted a writ petition against the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and others for conniving with the owner and developer of an old bungalow and misusing a repair permission to construct a new building.The petition alleges that the owner and developers of an old one-storey bungalow obtained a repair permission from the BMC, but instead of carrying out any repairs, demolished it and constructed a new two-storey building at the spot with active connivance of the concerned H west ward officials.The petitioner, President of the Brashtachar Nirmoolan Sangathana (BNS) Manav Joshi, has alleged that Oscar J D'Mello, owner of the bungalow (survey no B/352 and H ward nos 836 (1) street no 67 (2) and street no 11) at Waroda Road, Bandra west, obtained a permission from the building and factory department of the H west ward office to carry out repairs to the old structure.The terms and conditions of the letter of permission dated March 1, 1996, written by Assistant Engineer R P Mallia to D'Mello stated that the repairs should not comprise any dimensional changes to the existing bungalow and average height of the structure should not exceed 25 feet and 19 feet at the ridge and caves sides respectively.Soon after obtaining the permission, D'mello sold the property under a Deed of Conveyance dated April 20, 1996 to developers Sattar Dawood Radhanpura, Yusuf Mohammad Khan and Sanjay Tukaram Shelar, who were intending to develop the same under ``a repair permission'' of the BMC.The developers also entered into individual agreements with the tenants of the bungalow and took over vacant possession of the premises by promising them free permanent accommodation in the new building. One such agreement was signed by the developers on June 4, 1996, with one Sanjiva Pujari, who owned a shop on the ground floor of the structure.When Joshi saw the new construction, he inquired with the ward office and learnt from Mallia that the construction was according to the sanctioned plans submitted by D'mello.When he pursued the matter further, he managed to get hold of the repair permission under which the construction was being made. He says in his petition: ``The respondents have gone far beyond the terms and conditions of the repair permission and constructed a completely new building violating the provisions of the Development Control rules of the BMC.``It is also clear that D'mello had granted development rights to the developers for a handsome amount who in turn have sold the extra FSI to new buyers,'' he stated.The petition has prayed for directions to be given to the BMC to either prove the validity of the construction, or demolish the same. It has also prayed for restraining the BMC from giving water connection to the building and sought directions to be given to the municipal commissioner to initiate an inquiry against the involved ward staff.
