Mumbai: Babul Supriyo accused of misusing common area of Andheri society

Babul Supriyo

As he gears up to contest the West Bengal polls, there is simmering anger against singer-turned-politician Babul Supriyo over 2,000 km away. The BJP MP, who is the chairman of a housing society in Andheri, faces allegations of misusing the common area.

The alleged violations in the stilt parking area of Orchid Tower. Members say the managing committee has passed illegal resolutions to convert its status. Pics/Satej Shinde

Following complaints by members of six-storey Orchid Tower located in Yamuna Nagar, the BMC has issued notices to the managing committee to explain alleged illegalities on the society premises.

Despite repeated attempts, Supriyo could not be reached.

Anuradha Majumdar, a resident, said, "The managing committee has illegally occupied car parking space and covered it with collapsible gates and grills to use them for commercial storage and sleeping areas for their servants. We had opposed this by approaching the BMC as well as the Registrar of Co-op Housing Society. What is surprising is that our chairman is Mr Babul Supriyo."

The members say the alleged unauthorised construction has been there for over a decade and they have to park their cars elsewhere. They said they have pooled in about Rs 1 crore to renovate the building, but the converted parking slots continue to remain as eyesores.

"For how long can we live like this?" said Manish Goenka, treasurer of the society. "He [Supriyo] is aware of the situation. I met with him in October 2020…but after realising that it was nothing but small talk, we members approached the Registrar and BMC."

The members held a special body meeting on December 6 and passed a resolution to reverse the managing committee's earlier decision to use the stilt parking for other purposes, said Goenka.

The BMC on December 16 wrote to the secretary and chairman saying, "On site inspection, it is observed that many of the stilt parkings have been covered by grills, jali, and converted as garage and storage without approval from any competent authority." It asked the society to "restore the stilt parking as per the approved plan within 15 days".

On February 6, the civic body told the managing committee that it had violated the MCGM Act. It again wrote on March 6, saying if the society failed to respond in 15 days, the unauthorized structures would be removed and the cost would be recovered from the society.

The order also said that the secretary and chairman were "liable to be punished with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than three months, but which may extend up to three years" apart from a maximum fine of up to Rs 50,000.

"There is always a third party person present in the society compound. We don't know who these people are," said Goenka. "The chairman and secretary have multiple stilts to their names that were gained through the passing of illegal resolutions. They have grabbed these stilts much like the land mafia and now refuse to give it back," added Goenka.

Society secretary Sukhpreet Singh called it an internal matter. "It is not a very important matter that needs to be told or written about. A proper reply has been given on the matter in court. We have already taken appropriate action…the competent authorities have been informed and are doing the needful." About using the parking for storage, Singh said, "It has been passed in the AGM not once but twice."