Navi Mumbai builders guilty of FSI violations

Chief minister Prithviraj Chavan admitted in the state assembly on Tuesday that 21 of the 23 Palm Beach Road high-rises under probe have violated construction norms, putting the heat on Navi Mumbai builders.

A three-bedroom apartment on Palm Beach Road, often called the 'Queen's Necklace of Navi Mumbai' , can cost upwards of Rs 1 crore. The chief minister's admission threatens to expose the web of malfeasance that besets the real estate sector in the satellite city.

Earlier this year, the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) had found 23 high-rises on Palm Beach Road in violation of floor space index (FSI) norms. It ordered their developers to either regularize the illegal additions, such as extra floors, or demolish them. Heeding the warning, a few builders made a handful of corrections; the rest did not. The NMMC, however, is yet to raze the remaining unauthorized extensions.


The NMMC passed on the names of 23 towers in violation of FSI norms to the chief minister. Among the buildings found in the wrong are Venus (under scrutiny for three extra illegal floors), Shagoofa and Vanashree in Nerul's sector 58A. In Sanpada's sector 18, the errant builders include Bhumiraj Constructions, Sai Homes, Paradise Makers and Sea Queen.

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena members Prakash Bhoir, Nitin Bhosale, Harshvardhan Jadhav and Ram Kadam recently filed a query on the issue, which came up for discussion on Tuesday during zero hour. Replying to the query, Chavan admitted that 21 high-rises had violated FSI rules and that a notice for demolition of the illegal floors was served on March 18 this year.

When prodded on why no demolition action had been initiated since, Chavan assured the House that strict action would be taken against the guilty. He however added that in five cases developers had submitted proposals for regularization of the illegalities. "They will be regularized if legally permissible," he said.

When MNS members demanded action against officials who allowed the illegal constructions , Chavan said that a CID probe was already going on.

During the discussion, BJP's Girish Bapat demanded criminal action under provisions of the Bombay Provincial Municipal Corporation Act. He contended that action under the Maharashtra Region and Town Planning Act had failed to deter culprits.

Navi Mumbai's Congress corporator Dashrath Bhagat criticized the government's action. "Why is there a CID probe into just 21 towers on Palm Beach Road? I am sure there are many buildings in the city which need to be scrutinized by the NMMC and Cidco for blatant FSI violations."

NMMC commissioner Bhaskar Wankhede said: "I am aware of the (CID) probe. The NMMC had submitted its report regarding Palm Beach Road towers to the CM."