Builder’s attempt to grab land thwarted by NMC

Nagpur: Exercising its civic accountability, the town planning department of Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) has rightly rejected the fake revised plan submitted by a builder who had intended to make an illegal construction on a plot of a citizen, obtained through allurement. It is a jolt to those unrelenting land-mafias who try to grab the lands of poor and simple citizens, just because the latter are unable to construct on their lands due various reasons including financial crunch.

In this context, there has emerged a case of Narhari Parmanand Joshi family which owns a plot at Zenda Chowk, Dharampeth in the city. Joshi’s plot is being attempted to be grabbed by a city-based builder, Pankaj Roshan Dhavan, resident of Raj Nagar in the city. It is said that all this is going on under the connivance of the ward officer of Dharampeth Zone of NMC.

According to available information, the plots number 25 & 26, at Zenda Chowk, Mouza Gagda, Ward No. 70, vide city survey Nos. 858 and 859, are jointly owned by Narhari Joshi, Ganesh Joshi and Ramesh Joshi. Under a contract with builder Pankaj Roshan Dhavan of Raj Nagar, the Joshi-brothers agreed to sell out their land on certain self-interested conditions in a residential-cum-commercial complex to be so constructed. The contract was made in year 2010 at the intervention of the then corporator of the ward. It was mentioned in the contract, as stated by Narhari Joshi, that Dhavan Builders would construct a residential-cum-commercial complex on their land, on a mutual understanding that each one of three brothers would be given a flat admeasuring 750 sq feet and a shop measuring 10×15 feet in the complex. As the mind changed, Dhavan Builders also planned to go for an elegant construction of a huge building by acquiring the adjacent land of one Badkas at an offer of providing him a large flat in the scheme.
Joshi further said, the FSI of his land done in year 2010 was 1.5 which in year 2012 became 2. Taking advantage of FSI 2, Dhavan kept on misleading both Joshi and Badkas. In year 2013, Dhavan builder got a map of 4-storeyed building sanctioned at the rate of FSI 1.5 by the town planning department of NMC. According to the sanctioned map, the construction of the basement, shops at first floor and flats from second floor to the fourth floor was to be made.

But as soon as Dhavan builder came to know that the FSI has been raised from 1.5 to 2, he did not obtain revised sanction on his plan and started illegal construction of two floors extra. He later applied for sanction of a revised plan on March 3, 2015. But the town planning department of NMC, citing various reasons, rejected the plan, under intimation to Joshi-brothers, Badkas, Dhavan and the Dharampeth Zone, vide its letters dated 27.4.2015 and 15.6.2015. This is how the Joshi-brothers and Badkas came to know about the illegal activities of Dhavan builder.

Having received written intimation, Joshi-brothers contacted the Dharampeth zonal ward officer Rajesh Karade and zonal PWD incharge officer Chouganjkar and urged them to demolish the construction work, but their demand was turned down. Upon this, Joshis approached the Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to seek justice. The chief Minister’s letter in this regard has reached the Dharampeth Zone office, it is informed.

It may be noted that zonal ward officer Karade has always been in controversies. He was transferred due to some complaint against him from Gandhibagh Zone to Dharampeth Zone at the behest of the then Leader of Opposition Pravin Datke. There are several complaints against Karade and one more ward officer and both of them are reported to be incorrigible.

All eyes are now set at the impact of Chief Minister’s letter to the NMC administration.

– Rajeev Khushwaha