NAVI MUMBAI: The Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) issued a ‘stop work’ notice at a redevelopment site in Sanpada, Sector 7, after a house owner complained that his flat was hurriedly demolished, although his possessions and valuables worth Rs 10-15 lakh were still inside.
The stop work notice was signed by the Turbhe ward assistant municipal commissioner, Prabhodhan Mavade, who told TOI: “We sent the notice to Paradise Cooperative Housing Society in Sanpada, Plot 3, Sector 7, on December 5, after receiving a complaint from one flat owner of the Gawdi family, that their house was demolished despite their valuables worth around Rs 10-15 lakh still kept inside the flat. We also gathered that another flat owner from the same society had kept his flat fully locked and sealed over a period of time. Hence, they did not want this flat to be demolished immediately.”
The ward officer further added that since the Gawdi family earlier filed a case in the Judicial Magistrate First Class Court at Belapur over certain objections to the redevelopment issue, they alleged that such a hurried demolition of their flat was wrong and not required. This is why the NMMC stop work notice was sent.
The aggrieved resident, Pragnesh Gawdi, said: “My ailing father, Surajprakash Gawdi (63), is the owner of our flat. Our family raised certain objections with regards to the redevelopment of the society, which has a total of 100 flats. However, since most of the other flat owners already gave their consent for redevelopment on a notarised paper, I think our flat was hurriedly demolished a few days ago, although our possessions and valuables were still inside the flat.”
Gawdi therefore approached the NMMC and earlier filed a petition in the JMFC court, which will hear the case on December 9. “We will definitely inform the court during the next hearing how our flat was demolished in this fashion,” said Gawdi.
The chairperson of Paradise CHS, Namdeo Alhat, when contacted, said: “I cannot immediately comment on this matter since I am out of station due to a family emergency. When I come back to Navi Mumbai, we can talk.”
Meanwhile, city-based RTI activist, Anarjit Chauhan, commented: “After the high court order of approvals of 51% of members is required for redevelopment, it did not mean that the balance 49% of flat owners would be ditched of their fundamental rights. It does not mean that the protocols should not be followed as per the rules and regulations from the govt, especially when one has to register the agreement for sale prior to the redevelopment and other protocols.”
Pragnesh Gawdi also stated: “For nearly four-and-a-half months, our family lived inside this flat without electricity and water, which was cut off due to the redevelopment plan. It was a tough time for our family, which later shifted to another location. However, this sudden demolition of our flat shocked us all. Even the civic officials were not allowed to enter the demolition site after we informed them on December 5.”
Source Homevior.in
