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Mumbai, August 21
The Maharashtra Government on Tuesday began the process for demolishing 162 illegal bungalows belonging to Bollywood personalities, industrialists and absconding diamond merchants Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi.
These bungalows are located in Alibaug across the sea from Mumbai’s Gateway of India and Murud on the Western Coast. These structures are located in the CRZ zone where construction is banned.
Maharashtra Minister for Environment Ramdas Kadam said the demolition of these bungalows would commence as soon as the National Green Tribunal gives the go-ahead. Apart from having the structures demolished, their owners found guilty of violating the law will face a jail term of up to five years, Kadam said.
The government faced criticism from the Bombay HC last week after it emerged that the collector of Raigad district had exempted Nirav Modi’s bungalow from demolition. It also ordered a probe into the matter. According to a PIL filed in the matter, bungalows have been constructed in violation of the CRZ regulations in Varsoli, Sasvane, Kolgaon, Dokvade villages in Alibaug taluka.
Many bungalow owners, including Nirav Modi, have in the past challenged the demolition orders on the grounds that these structures existed prior to 1986 when the CRZ regulations came into effect. — TNS
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