Mumbai: Police told to book developer for

forgery in Mahalaxmi society

The developer was appointed by the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA)
in the late 1990s to build homes for 2,215 slum-dwelling families.

Jogadia said that she sent several applications in 2017 to the Tardeo police, then local assistant
commissioner of police Nagesh Jadhav and then deputy commissioner of police (Zone III)
Virendra Mishra, but received no response. (Representational Image)

THE MAHARASHTRA State Police Complaints Authority (MSPCA) has

directed the Mumbai Police to file a case of forgery against a developer who
has constructed homes in Mahalaxmi by allegedly posing as the owner of a
BMC plot abutting railway land and assuring the Western Railways (WR) that
residents would bear the cost for demolishing their homes if the need arises.
The order has brought relief to residents who were afraid of losing their
homes.
While the property in question is Tulsiwadi Nav Nirman Co-Operative Housing
Society, the complainant in the case is Lila Jogadia, a resident who works at a
private bank. The property, 10 18-storey towers, has been constructed by
Mangal Srushti Gruh Nirman Private Limited.
The developer was appointed by the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) in
the late 1990s to build homes for 2,215 slum-dwelling families. However,
when surveys of the BMC-owned plot showed that a drainage line ran under it,
rendering it unsuitable, the BMC decided to acquire adjoining buildings, in
which 724 families of BMC employees lived and include them in the project. In
the new project, the developer was to build homes for over 3,500 families.
However, while applying for a NOC in 2007 from the WR — since the plot runs
very close to tracks — the developer was told to leave a gap of 30 m from the
railway boundary wall.
In her complaint, Jogadia has alleged that in its application for the NOC, the
developer had claimed that it owned the plot of land. However, after modifying
the plan and while applying for another NOC in 2009, the developer allegedly
stated it was only a contractor appointed by the BMC. In the same letter, the
developer also allegedly gave an undertaking to the WR that if it should
require the use of the land in future, the residents would demolish their homes
at their own expense.

The residents alleged that the developer did not inform them of the
undertaking either in the society meetings or in circulars, as mandated by law.
“We were kept completely in the dark. There is a very real possibility that the
WR might need to acquire additional land, as it is currently undertaking a lot of
infrastructure projects,” said Jogadia.
After filing multiple Right to Information Act applications with the BMC, SRA
and WR, the residents became aware of the undertaking and also learnt that
the developer had allegedly submitted forged consent letters of 634 additional
beneficiaries to the SRA to include them in the project.
Jogadia said that some of these tenants, who the developer claimed had
signed consent letters, had been missing for several years, while some others
had illegally claimed additional homes in the project in the name of their family
members. Jogadia alleged in her complaint to the MSPCA that this forgery
was committed by the developer with the motive of obtaining additional Floor
Space Index worth “thousands of crores of rupees”.
Jogadia said that she sent several applications in 2017 to the Tardeo police,
then local assistant commissioner of police Nagesh Jadhav and then deputy
commissioner of police (Zone III) Virendra Mishra, but received no response.
When the police did not register an FIR on the basis of her allegations, she
approached the MSPCA, seeking action against the police.
In its order, MSPCA members P K Jain and Umakant Mitkar observed that the
undertaking given by the developer to the WR “amounts to cheating and
criminal breach of trust”. The MSPCA also took the view that the “undertaking
given by the developer to the Railways, manipulation of the list of beneficiaries
and addition of beneficiaries in the annexure 2, on the basis of prima facie
false and fabricated documents, does require registration of an offence and
proper investigation”.
Jogadia is now optimistic that her years-long efforts to bring the alleged
illegalities to light have borne fruit. “Our house overlooks the railway tracks. If
the WR ever decides that the buildings need to be demolished, our home will
be the first to be broken. We have nowhere else to go,” she said.