Maharashtra Environment Minister Ramdas Kadam on Tuesday asked the Raigad district collector to demolish an illegal bungalow owned by fugitive businessman Nirav Modi in Alibaug town, The Indian Express reported. The decision, which was taken at a meeting chaired by Kadam at Mantralaya in Mumbai, came a week after the Bombay High Court questioned the delay in carrying out the demolition.
“In all, there are 121 illegal bungalows in Alibaug and 151 illegal bungalows in Murud in Raigad district,” Kadam told reporters. “Some of these illegal bungalows belong to Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi, Smita Godrej, Madhukar Parekh and others. I have asked the Raigad collector to demolish the illegal bungalow of Nirav Modi.”
Raigad Collector Vijay Suryawanshi confirmed the order to demolish Modi’s bungalow. “We have written to the Enforcement Directorate, which has attached the bungalow, asking them to allow us to carry out the demolition,” he said. “The demolition will happen after we get a go-ahead from ED.”
Officials from the district collector’s office said Modi’s bungalow is in Kihim village while his uncle Mehul Choksi’s bungalow is in Awas village. Both of them are accused of defrauding the Punjab National Bank of more than Rs 13,000 crore. Officials said Modi’s bungalow would be demolished as it violates Coastal Regulation Zone norms.
The government may not proceed with the demolition of other bungalows immediately as the matter will have to be heard by the National Green Tribunal, DNA reported. “So we have now transferred the cases to the National Green Tribunal,” Kadam said. “The police will conduct the document verification in a month. All the cases in NGT are likely to be cleared in the next two to three months.”
If found guilty, the owners of these illegal bungalows may be jail for five years and fined up to Rs 1 lakh.
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!