Approximately 9,000 residents are set to be affected as the Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC) plans to demolish 51 “unauthorized buildings” this week. These structures were declared illegal after builders constructed them using fake building plans and forged RERA certificates. This action follows a Bombay High Court ruling demanding the removal of illegal buildings built with fraudulent documents in the Kalyan-Dombivli area of Thane district, Maharashtra.
The residents of these unauthorized buildings have appealed to the state government, claiming they were unaware of the real estate scam. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis addressed the issue, stating, "I am holding a meeting regarding Kalyan-Dombivli. We will approach the Supreme Court to explore options for helping the affected residents. Ravindra Chavan has brought this matter to my attention, and we have instructed the police to take action against the builder. The goal is to explore legal avenues to regularize genuine buyers. Some of these buildings are constructed on government land."
The Kalyan-Dombivli real estate scam was uncovered in 2022 when architect Sandeep Patil discovered that some builders were selling properties in illegal buildings with forged RERA certificates, as reported by the Times of India. In response, the KDMC filed two FIRs with the Thane police, and an investigation was launched. A verification process revealed that 65 residential and commercial structures in Kalyan-Dombivli had been built with fake documents, according to PTI. Out of these, 57 unauthorized buildings fell under KDMC's jurisdiction, and six have already been demolished.
Fifteen people, including several builders, were arrested by the police, as reported by the Times of India. Flatowners filed a petition in court, seeking regularization and were granted time until February 3, 2025. However, on February 13, KDMC informed the court that it had received regularization applications for 38 of the 65 buildings, but all were rejected as they did not meet the requirements under the regularization scheme. The Bombay High Court reaffirmed its demolition order, dismissing the residents' plea.