Decrepit Dongri building gets transformed after gaining 5 floors under guise of repairs. Ward officer says many such structures thrive in locality; locals point fingers at D-Company henchman Tariq Parveen
Tariq Parveen
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Crooked developers, residents willing to bend the rules and the alleged blessings of a notorious gangster’s henchman - that’s all it takes to raise an illegal structure in Maximum City. A three-storey building in Dongri went under repair in April, but emerged as a structure eight storeys high around six months later. The unauthorised development was allegedly backed by Tariq Parveen – a close aide of fugitive terrorist Dawood Ibrahim – who was deported from Dubai to Mumbai in 2004 for his alleged involvement in the construction of an illegal shopping complex in south Mumbai.
Parveen’s association with the eight-storey unauthorised construction near Abdul Rehman Shah Baba Dargah in Dongri is only talked about in hushed tones in the locality. While a complaint has been registered with the BMC and the police by Mohammed Hussain Choudhary (36), a social worker from Dharavi, no action has been taken against the illegality till date.
(Left) Before: The structure that was 3-storyed. (Right) After: Shot to 8 storeys when done
No info: Ward officer
Udaykumar Shiroorkar, assistant municipal commissioner of B ward, under which Dongri falls, said there are seven to eight such three-storeyed buildings in the ward that have been turned into multi-storey structures. “I cannot comment specifically on the Dongri building and the person behind it as I don’t have any information on it. But, yes, we have identified such buildings, and in some cases, even received complaints about such buildings.”
‘Name being sullied’
Parveen denied any association with the Dongri building. Oversimplifying the issue of illegal building construction, he said there are a large number of structures that are raised beyond permissible limits. “Old structures need immediate repair. But, their occupants often don’t have the money to afford the repairs. In such cases, builders conduct repairs for free. But, to recover the cost, they add extra floors.”
He said he is not tied with any such illegal construction. “People drag my name into every illegal activity. This is done by a section of extortionists. I have no connection with them.”
He alleged that civic officials let crooked builders have the run of the land, and turn a blind eye to illegalities by affluent people. “In many cases, builders have violated the rules with impunity and taken up extra FSI. But, there is no action against the rich. When a poor person commits the same offence to maintain his/her shelter, the BMC talks of demolishing it,” Parveen said.
Deported in 2004
Parveen had fled from jail in early 2000 after his name cropped up in the case of the illegal construction of the Sara-Sahara shopping complex in Crawford Market. The complex was allegedly built at Ibrahim’s behest by his younger brother, Iqbal Kaskar. Both Parveen and Kaskar hid in Dubai. While Kaskar was deported in 2003, Parveen was brought back to Mumbai in June 2004. Parveen was also slapped with an extortion case in 2004 for allegedly attempting to extort money from a builder. Parveen is currently out on bail in the Sara-Sahara case.
Dongri was where Ibrahim cut his teeth in the world of crime. The locality is equally feared and abhorred for its continuing notorious association with the underworld.
PoliceSpeak
On Wednesday, the BMC and the Mumbai police met to chalk out plans to demolish illegal structures in Dongri and Pydhonie. “We have worked out a plan to demolish all illegal structures. Police protection will be given to civic officials as and when they demand it. Those involved in illegal construction activities will not be spared, no matter who the people involved are,” Pratap Dighavkar, additional commissioner of police, south region, told mid-day.
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