Forest Issue - Mulund Mumbai
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June 25, 2011
To
Justice Shri. S H Kapadia,
Chief Justice Of India,
Supreme Court of India
New Delhi 110001
Subject : Forest Land Issue, Mulund, Mumbai, Maharastra.
This letter represents the grievance of a group of people who booked apartments in residential projects called Blue Diamond and Runwal Infinity which are projects of leading Mumbai developers Nirmal Lifestyles and Runwal Group in Mulund, Mumbai, Maharashtra.
The projects were flagged off in the year 2003 (Blue Diamond) and 2006 (Runwal Infinity) and the delivery of this project was scheduled for end of 2006 (Blue Diamond) and 2008 (Runwal Infinity). It is now 2011 and we are nowhere near in getting possession of our cherished homes. Various permits and clearances as required for the construction of the apartment were approved and registered by the Mumbai Municipal Corporation and subsequently housing loans were approved and disbursed by the banks (public as well as private). The construction was progressing and the builders demand for payments based on slab was met by us regularly. Some of us have taken housing loans to make these payments. A few unfortunate amongst us started living in rented homes having sold their existing homes to make these payments. Some of us made full down payment to the builder. But the dream of living in our cherished apartment in the upcoming suburb of Mumbai kept us going. Then all of a sudden, sometime in 2005 an NGO called Bombay Environmental Action Group filed a Public Interest Litigation in the Mumbai High courts claiming that these tracts of land on which these housing projects was constructed was forest land prior to 1955. Mumbai High Court stayed any further construction on these lands in June 2005 which subsequently halted the construction.
Now close to 5 years later and after countless court hearings and postponements time and again, justice has not been served to the hundreds of innocent common hardworking people like us. While the law is taking its own time, hundreds of us are paying rent to have a roof over our head and making hefty bank payments towards the loans we took to purchase the flat.
In 2008, the case was transferred from Mumbai high court to the Supreme Court (SC) of India. SC had appointed a Central Empowerment Committee (CEC) to study the ground situation and make a recommendation. After visiting all the affected sites and speaking to various people, CEC submitted its report to SC in 2009 the report was accepted by the SC in Jan-2010. Builders have informed us that they have already paid the NPV as directed by the CEC and still waiting for the clearance.
All these years, we have waited patiently hoping that ultimately justice will prevail. Even after fulfilling the recommendation made by SC in Jan-2010, the case has not been resolved yet. After hearing the case for over three years, the two member SC bench has suggested that the case should now be heard by a three member bench. So far, the Supreme Court has not been able to provide justice and we demand that a swift and fair verdict be granted in favour of lacs of innocent people affected by the forest issue.
Through this petition we also demand the following:
1) Grant clearance to builders to resume construction of housing complex that have already begun construction without any further delay.
2) As the builder resumes construction, they should ensure that the structure meets the same safety standards that is required for residential properties.
3) The builder should honor the original agreement signed between them and the buyer. The buyer should not be required to pay any additional money other than what is in the original agreement.
4) Going forth, local authorities like Municipal Corporation who grant permission to construct projects, should be held responsible for giving permits on land that is designated as forest area. Once a permit is granted to allow construction, government and other authorities should not be allowed to reclaim the land back.
5) Make builders responsible to disclose ownership of land to buyers when buyers invest in them.
Most sincerely,
Owners of Flats in Blue Diamond & Runwal Infinity
Mulund, MUMBAI-MAHARASHTRA
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