In a decisive move, the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) disconnected electricity and water supply to two illegally constructed buildings in Nerul's sector 16 A on Tuesday. Dr. Rahul Gethe, Deputy Municipal Commissioner, personally sealed flats in Krishna Complex and Trimurti Park, leaving residents scrambling for shelter. The civic body has earlier issued notices and asked residents to vacate the buildings by January 30.
On January 30, a team of civic body with police personnel reached and disconnected the electricity and water supply to the buildings. A resident said that they had gone to meet Belapur MLA to intervene and manage a stay on the action. However, by the time they returned, their flats were already sealed by the civic body. Now, they are homeless and do not know where they will stay tonight.
A total of 165 families were living in these two buildings which were constructed on land reserved for a public garden. They exhausted almost all legal options to save their homes from demolition. The fact that their buildings were built illegally came as a rude shock to them as the builder had suppressed the details, said one of the residents.
Their last hope vanished in November 2022 when the Supreme Court (SC) declined to stay the execution of the Bombay High Court's order to demolish the building constructed on land earmarked for a public garden. Despite their dejection, the residents are determined to persevere in the legal battle, yet uncertainty looms as discussions with lawyers remain inconclusive. Experts suggest that their sole recourse may be to file a review petition challenging the SC's decision.
The Supreme Court had granted residents a six-month grace period to vacate the towers, contingent upon submitting a written undertaking committing to relocate within this time frame. NMMC also issued notice to residents to vacate the building following SC order.
While many families bought the house with their own money, a substantial number of home buyers took out loans from banks. According to an officer bearer of Trimurti Park, at least 20 families in both buildings are still paying EMIs.
Illegal construction issue raised in Assembly
Last year in December Hingoli MLA Santosh Bangar raised an illegal construction issue in the house and sought a reply as to why NMMC failed to take action against two illegal buildings despite Supreme Court order. NMMC administration replied to the assembly query. However, the civic body also called both society office bearers and reminded them to vacate the premises as early as possible.