MSEDCL and CIDCO have issued notices to the developers of the Green Heritage, threatening to deny the residents a permanent electricity connection, if they fail to raze unlawful constructions and obtain necessary documents
MSEDCL and CIDCO have issued notices to the developers of the Green Heritage, threatening to deny the residents a permanent electricity connection, if they fail to raze unlawful constructions and obtain necessary documents
While illegal construction is rampant in the Navi Mumbai region with local builders and developers brazenly flouting construction norms, it's the occupants who are bearing the brunt of their irregularities.
Dark days ahead: Residents may have to go without power or water if
the developers of the building, Abhishek Builders and Developers, do
not obtain the No-Objection and Occupancy certificates for the building
On October 31, the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) issued a notice to the occupants of the Green Heritage building, informing them that the body has decide to discontinue power supply to the building. They have cited reasons such as non-submission of occupancy certificate (OC) and no-objection certificate (NOC) by Abhishek Builders and Developers, the firm which developed the building. Besides, the City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra Ltd (CIDCO) has sent similar notices, dated September 13 and October 13 to the developers, stating that they have flouted construction norms, and declaring certain parts of the structure illegal. Copies of the notices are available with MiD DAY.
Officialspeak
Subhash Rathod, deputy executive engineer of Kharghar subdivision, MSEDCL, said, "A year ago, we had provided Green Heritage with a temporary electricity connection for six months, which was extended time and again. However, the developers of the building have failed to submit the OC and NOC for the building, leaving us with no option but to cut the power supply to the building. The connection will be snipped in the next two or three days."
Commenting on the issue, R B Patil, additional town planning officer, CIDCO, said, "During our visits, we observed gross irregularities in the construction of Green Heritage. We issued the first notice to the developer on September 13, under Section 53 (1) of the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act 1966, wherein we had asked the builder to send a revised plan in a month's time. But the builder did not respond. On October 13, we sent them another notice, warning them that legal action would be taken if they failed to rectify the errors.
A reminder for the same has been sent to the Chief Controller of Unauthorised Constructions (CCUC), so that appropriate action can be initiated against the builders, if they fail to do the needful."
Residents speak
With the builder flouting construction norms, the residents have been deprived of basic amenities such as regular water supplyu00a0-- which was not allowed by CIDCOu00a0-- or a permanent electric connection.
Rampal Malik, one of the residents of Green Heritage said, "After we discovered that we have been cheated by the builder, action initiated by the authorities didn't surprise us. The builder never showed us any plan when we were purchasing the flat. With CIDCO reluctant to issue an OC, stating that certain structures in it are illegal, all of us have been deprived of basic amenities. Despite complaining to the developers time and again, they kept on procrastinating, saying that they would fix the problem soon. But nothing has been done yet."
Troubled heritage
Green Heritage was constructed at Sector 20 in Kharghar in 2009. CIDCO had granted permission for construction of a resident-cum-commercial building, which included 97 residential units and 26 commercial units. However, during site inspection, the body discovered that the developers had flouted construction norms and had increased the number of residential units from 97 to 160 and the number of commercial units from 20 to 38.
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The other side
Rubbishing the allegations levelled against them, Vijay Gajara, a partner in Abhishek Builders and Developers, said, "Our construction is clean. We have already submitted a revised plan to the CIDCO and have assured the flat owners that the problems will be fixed in a few days and the electricity connection will not be cut by MSEDCL." However, when questioned about the delay in resolving the issue, Gajara remained tightlipped.
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