Illegal constructions in Alibaug: Bombay HC ask details of action taken

The Bombay High Court has directed the Maharashtra government to submit the details of the action taken by it against the illegal private constructions along the beaches in Alibaug in Raigad district within two weeksThe directions of the court hearing a petition filed by an activist came after the government submitted that it had failed to demolish most of such structures due to pending litigationSeveral private parties have constructed residential bungalows farmhouses and multistoreyed houses in the said area according to the petitionFugitive jeweller Nirav Modi who is wanted in the alleged multicrorerupee Punjab National Bank PNB fraud also has some illegal properties in the areaOn a previous occasion the court had directed the state government to demolish or take other appropriate action against such illegal structuresIn an order passed on November 29 a bench of Chief Justice Naresh Patil and Justice MS Karnik directed the state to submit the above details within two weeksThe directions came after the government in its response to the courts query on the action taken so far submitted that it had failed to demolish most of the illegal structuresGovernment counsel PB Kakade told the bench that the owners of most of the structures identified as illegal by the state authorities had moved various courts challenging the states demolition noticesIn most cases there exist stay orders from various courts Therefore we have been unable to take any demolition or other punitive action against the illegal constructions Kakade saidAt this the bench directed the state authorities to submit the details of the action undertaken by them as well as the details of the illegal properties that had secured stay orders from courts and also the status of the pending casesAlso inform us of the action taken against those illegal properties whose status is not subjudice the bench saidIt was hearing a petition filed by activist Surendra DhavaleThe petitioner has sought the high courts directions to the authorities concerned to demolish all unauthorised constructions located within the low and hightide areas in many villages of AlibaugThe petitioner has alleged that such constructions were carried out in violation of the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority rules and the land laws of the state governmentAccording to the plea around 175 private residences belonging to several wealthy persons including Nirav Modi and several businessmen and film actors fall under the CRZ Coastal Regulatory Zone areas in Varsoli Sasvane Kolgaon and Dokvade villages in Alibaug talukaOn a previous hearing another bench of the court had directed the Konkan region divisional commissioner to initiate an inquiry to ascertain how the illegal structures were permitted to be constructed along the beaches in AlibaugIt had also directed the district and state authorities to take appropriate punitive actionCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updatesThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Except for the change in the headline the story has been provided ASIS AS AVAILABLE without any verification or editing from our side Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever