No OC for building? Ignoring it may get you an arrest warrant!

As many as 60 occupants of the plush Prarthana Heights in Parel have been issued arrest warrants by the 41st Metropolitan Magistrate Court for failing to appear before the court for a hearing despite repeated summonsThe civic bodys legal department has lodged a complaint against the flat owners of the 37storeyed building for occupying their respective flats without the builders Occupation Certificate OCPrarthana society located opposite Parels ITC Grand Hotel doesnt have a water connection yet owing to the lack of OC despite each flat in the building costing over Rs 3 croreI have not come across a case where such a large number of flat occupants from the same building have been issued arrest warrants by the court Citizens have either ignored the summons or have taken the matter lightly showing disrespect to the court compelling it to take such stern action said solicitor Stuti GaliyaThe complaint alleges that subengineer Building and Proposal department V V Kamble inspected the premises of Prarthana Heights some years ago and it was observed that the Building Completion Certificate BCC and OC were not granted to the building by the BMC as the developer or architect had not applied for it But the building was occupied Kamble prepared an inspection report including the names of all the unauthorised occupants Executive engineer N M Hamand gave approval for issuing the notice under the Mumbai Municipal Corporation MMC Act to the developer architect and the occupants on November 2 2018 On December 14 2018 Kamble found that the accused had failed to comply with the notice A second inspection report was put up for approval before the superiors and on December 20 2019 assistant engineer Y P Junnarkar issued a final letter to all the parties informing them of prosecution being initiated against themResidents negligent tooA resident of the building confirmed the news saying that the residents were asked to be present in court on January 4 first After not appearing for the first hearing they failed to show up at the second one too which is why the court issued arrest warrants against the absentees on February 7 The Bhoiwada police were also intimated he told middayThose present before the court were released against a cash bail deposit of Rs 15000 each he added The absentees will bear the additional expenses towards the cancellation of the warrant and cash bail bondWe are already paying hefty monthly maintenance between Rs 14000 to Rs 18000 a month We also have to rely on tanker water as BMC has not given us a water connection We are hoping that the matter gets resolved at the earliest Many residents have invested huge savings to buy flats here another owner saidAttempts made to contact the society lawyer Kaustubh Gupte did not yield any resultWe have lodged a complaint against the occupants for illegally occupying the flats without Occupation Certificates OC being issued to the developer by the BP department The accused were not present in the court even after summons were issued nor were represented by any lawyer said a civic official from the FS WardD R Kawale assistant law officer BMC complainant in the case refused to comment on the matter saying he was not authorised to speak to the mediaCivic officials answerable tooSenior property lawyer Vinod Sampat said Thousands of buildings in Mumbai do not have Occupation Certificates OC and the municipal authorities levy hefty amounts as additional property tax water charges from such societies Civic officials are handinglove with the builders and the occupants have to sufferWhen such a complaint is filed the matter is heard at Municipal Courts and action is initiated against builders architects and occupants But it is the builders who misguide flat buyers to take possession of premises Sampat saidIt is the responsibility of the builder to not allow occupation till OC is issued he said adding that no action is ever initiated against municipal officials for not taking action against faulty buildersWhy dont they blacklist builders who have not obtained the OC Sampat questionedTimelineNov 2 2018 Notices under MMC Act issued to developer architect and occupantsDec 14 2018 BP department found accused had failed to comply with the notice and second inspection report preparedDec 20 2019 Assistant engineer issued final letter regarding prosecution to accusedRs 15000Amount each resident present in court has to deposit for bailCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates