18 April,2015 07:21 AM IST | | Shailesh Bhatia
Borivli resident claims that her residential society and a local builder are redeveloping her building without her consent; builder alleges complainant has ulterior motives
In what sounds like one of Mumbai's building redevelopment nightmares, a Borivli resident yesterday filed an FIR against society members and a local builder, alleging that they were tearing down her apartment building without her consent. While the woman claims that she is opposed to the terms of the redevelopment, the builder alleged her complaint was based on ulterior motives.
Amishi Honawar said the building, Jessica Apartments, was forty years old and in good condition. She said it did not need to be redeveloped
As a single mother, Amishi Honawar lived with her college-going son at their flat in the Jessica Apartment Cooperative Housing Society, situated at Dr Karande Marg, Borivli (West). Honawar, who is an air hostess with an international carrier, said the issue began in April 2014, when the society began the paperwork for redevelopment of the building.
Honawar said she was not satisfied that the building even needed to be redeveloped, as it was forty years old and in a good condition. Besides which, she alleged that the terms of the redevelopment, such as bank guarantee and monthly rent were not kosher. Despite her opposition, however, the demolition work began in another part of the building last month.
Disturbed by the constant comings and goings of workers, Honawar and her son moved to her mother's house in Gorai. Due to her odd work timings, Honawar would sometimes visit her flat at Jessica Apartments for overnight stays, she said. However, that came to an end yesterday, when she got a call from a neighbour saying demolition work had started in earnest.
When she attempted to check her house, however, the workers blocked her way. She discovered that even her water and power supply had been cut. "I was not allowed to enter my own house by the workers on Thursday morning. The entire building, including the area around my flat, was covered in rubble and debris.
I decided to approach the police to seek justice," said Honawar. The Borivli police registered her FIR against the builder, Yogesh Bhatt, and a few of the committee members in her society under Sections 341 (wrongful restraint) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the Indian Penal Code.
Police Inspector Vasant Pingle, of Borivli police station, said, "We have detained the site supervisor Dinesh Gawas and will be also detaining the builder, Yogesh Bhatt, of Vinayak Constructions for further questioning and to ascertain if they have all requisite permissions for carrying out the redevelopment work."
