21 October,2014 11:19 AM IST | | Vinay Dalvi
The trio would harass builders who wanted to redevelop buildings in Dadar, Sion and Matunga and wouldn’t give the vital Intimation For Disapproval (IOD) unless the developers paid up huge sums
Three Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation engineers were arrested for taking R15 lakh in bribes from builders in lieu of providing a document required for redevelopment projects. The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) nabbed the trio on Monday, along with a private architect and another person, after receiving a complaint from a builder in Dadar.
According to the ACB, the three engineers were identified as Sunil Hirasingh Rathod, executive engineer of the Building Proposal department of the E Ward of BMC, Balaji Birajdar, sub-engineer, Vilas Ganpati Khilare, assistant-engineer, Satish Palav, a private architect, and middleman Narayan Patil.
Police said the trio had demanded Rs 25 lakh from a builder in Dadar for issuing the Intimation of Disapproval (IOD), a document provided by the municipal body for allowing the redevelopment of a crumbling building. No refurbishment project can begin without this vital document.
The ACB said the trio would harass many builders for issuing clearance for redevelopment projects, demanding exorbitant sums for the same. Officials said they had received several complaints against the three, from builders in Dadar, Sion and Matunga. "On the complaint of a builder from Dadar who wanted to redevelop a building in Dadar, we arranged for a trap.
They were caught accepting Rs 15 lakh for releasing the IOD. Satish Palav, a private architect, and Narayan Patil accepted the money in Rathod's office," said Pravin Dixit, director general of police, ACB, Maharashtra.
The ACB said that trio used to put a spanner in the redevelopment works in several projects in Central Mumbai, asking for huge amounts from builders to clear the files.
