Palghar: ‘This is our whole life’s savings; save our homes’

Residents of Shree Gurukrupa Apartments in Virar East, on Tuesday. Pic/Hanif Patel

We have nowhere else to go. We spent all our life's savings to buy a home here," said residents of Shree Gurukrupa Apartments in Virar East. They are among the 3,500 victims of the five conmen, who also tricked the RERA and built 55 apartments illegally. Police on Tuesday visited residents of three apartments to check the agreement of sale and related property papers.

The Virar police on Tuesday visited three apartments in Virar East - Rudransh at Kopri village, Shree Gurukrupa at Kargil Nagar and Siddharth. The residents are in a panic after police asked for their house sale agreement and property papers.

The police are taking the help of the Vasai-Virar City Municipal Corporation (VVCMC) to verify the authenticity of the documents. "We have informed the Virar police to give us information about the 55 buildings. I am collecting details and starting an inquiry into this matter," VVCMC Commissioner Anil Pawar told mid-day.

Probe on

The VVCMC has also ordered civic officials concerned to conduct an inquiry into the matter under the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning (MRTP) Act, 1966 for illegal construction and development. "Those buildings that are illegal will be sent notices and further action will be taken against them," VVCMC Additional Commissioner Ramesh Manale said.

Shree Gurukrupa Apartments and its residents. Pics/Hanif Patel

Senior Inspector Rajendra Kamble of Virar police station said, "We produced all five accused in the court today and they were sent to jail for 14 days. We are currently visiting the societies. We are verifying their documents with the VVCMC." mid-day spoke to residents of Shree Gurukrupa Apartments, which was constructed in 2011 and has 42 flats, some of whom were woken up by men in khaki, seeking their property papers.

Borrowed from builder

Pravin Pawar, a resident and the secretary of the society, said he purchased his flat for Rs 7.45 lakh in 2020 and lives there with his wife Prachi Pawar and their two children. "I work in the hospitality industry and bought the flat from the previous owner. I have all the necessary documentation. Suddenly, we received a call from the police about our building being illegal. Now, we don't know what to do; where to go," Pravin said while speaking to mid-day.

"Police, the VVCMC and the authorities concerned should help us keep our flats," he added. Rupesh Kakade, another resident, said, "I bought this one-room-plus-kitchen flat for Rs 7 lakh in 2012 and live here with my wife Shital. I work as a field executive with a private company. I used my life's savings and also borrowed some money from the builder, Prashant Patil, at the time. We have repaid the entire loan."

"Suddenly, the police came to our door and asked for the agreement. We submitted the agreement at the police station and have been cooperating with them," Kakade said.

Can't afford to elsewhere

Shruti Santosh Patil lives at Shree Gurukrupa with her husband Santosh and their two children. "We purchased this flat in 2015 for R7 lakh. We also borrowed some money from the builder. The police came to our house a few days ago and asked for the agreement of our flats. We are scared now, as they informed us that all these flats are illegal," Shruti said.

"The police also mentioned that our society builder has defrauded many people by constructing illegal houses. We don't know where we would go with our children, if they took our house away. My husband works in a shop and is paid on a daily wage basis. It's impossible for us to purchase a new house," she added.

Chandrakant Mahadev Jaguste, a 77-year-old resident, who lives with his family, said, "We have just this one home. If we don't get to keep it, I will kill myself. Neither the VVCMC nor any other department can claim that it is illegal."

No action in monsoon

On taking action, VVCMC chief said, "Currently, it is the monsoon season and many people are living in these buildings. Hence we will not take any action. But after the rains, we will demolish all the illegal structures across Vasai-Virar. Currently, we have a list of 55 illegal buildings. We will also file a caveat in court to ensure that residents of these societies do not get a stay. We have no choice but to demolish all these illegal buildings that were constructed by the accused. We are also verifying with the RERA how they gave approval based on fake documents."

42
No of flats at Shree Gurukrupa Apartments