Letters to TMC regarding Illegal Wall constructed by secretary of Saket CHS Ltd.

December 29, 2019

The Secretary,

Saket CHS LTD.,

Thane

CC: The Hon. Municipal Commissioner,

Thane Municipal Corporation,

Thane

CC: The Dy Municipal Commissioner,

(Encroachment),

Thane Municipal Corporation,

Thane

Dear Sirs,

With reference to the above subject I want to inform you that today I was informed that the Society Management is illegally encroaching upon TMC land and has started construction of a 6 feel tall and about 15 feet wide wall outside the B 1 entrance gate.

I visited the site and found that indeed the society has encroached about 6-8 feet of the road outside of our main gate illegally and has constructed a wall there.

I am at a loss to understand what was the need to thus illegally encroaching Municipal land?

Do you want to increase the boundary of the Society?

What was the compulsion that you have unilaterally taken this decision, without referring the matter to the Managing Committee and are doing illegal things, even when the Society is bereft of OC?

This act is totally unjustified and illegal and is a crime.

There is a High Court judgement on the subject of Illegal Encroachment.

In the case M/s Javed Khan vs. Thane Municipal Corporation, Justice Abhay Oka has observed (Quote):

(iii) In case the staff of the Corporation detects the building which is in the process of being constructed and/or reconstructed and/ or extended without valid permission from the Corporation, it would be open to the Commissioner to demolish the same by giving a short notice of 24 hours after drawing a panchanama at the site and also by taking photographs of such structure and/or extension. The photographs should indicate the date when the same were taken.

(iv) In case where the Municipal Corporation has followed due process of law and demolished the unauthorised structure and or extension, if the same is reconstructed without valid permission within a period of one year, it would also be open to the Corporation to demolish the same by giving a short notice of 24 hours.

(Unquote)

By this act, you have violated the provisions of the MRTP Act.

The Managing Committee is supposed to be jointly and severally responsible for its act.

But this holds good if the decision is taken in a proper Managing Committee meeting.

This decision of yours is your own decision and the Managing Committee has got nothing to do with it. 

I am distancing myself from this decision of yours.

Earlier too you have illegally constructed, without Managing Committee sanction, a Security cabin outsde Society premises opposite the shopping complex.

Both these can be subject to Municipal action, which please note. In that case, you shall be held responsible to make good the loss incurred by the Society due to both your unilateral decisions and not the entire Managing Committee.

I am keeping the Municipal officials in loop of this letter and  request you that please immediately stop and demolish the illegal construction or face Municipal action.

Regards,

Dayanand Nene

Member, Saket Managing Committee.

2nd letter of follow up

December 30, 2019

The Dy Municipal Commissioner

(Encroachment),

Thane Municipal Corporation,

Thane

Dear Sir,

I am writing with reference to the letter I had written on the above subject  with copy marked to you and the Hon. Commissioner.

I wish to inform you that even after writing that letter, the society continued the illegal construction work on the vacant 4th side of the illegal wall.

Vide this letter I am requesting you to immediately demolish the same.

In the matter between Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation vs Nawab Khan Gulab Khan in 1996, it was stated:

(Quote)

"No person has a right to encroach by erecting a structure or otherwise on footpaths and pavements or other place reserved or earmarked for a public purpose like (for e.g. garden or playground) and that the provision contained in Section 314 of the Bombay Municipal Corporation Act is not unreasonable in the circumstances of the case".

The removal of encroachment needs urgent action. But in this behalf what requires to be done by the competent authority is to ensure constant vigil on encroachment of the public places. 

Sooner the encroachment is removed when sighted, better would be the facilities or convenience for passing or re-passing of the pedestrians on the pavements or foot-paths facilitating free flow of regulated traffic on the road or use of public places. 

On the contrary, the longer the delay, the greater will be the danger of permitting the encroachers claiming semblance of right to obstruct removal of the encroachment. 

If the encroachment is of a recent origin the need to follow the procedure of principle of natural justice could be obviated in that no not has a right to encroach upon the public property and claim the procedure of opportunity of hearing which would be a tardious and time-consuming process leading to putting a premium for high-handed and unauthorised acts of encroachment and unlawful squatting. 

On the other hand, if the Corporation allows settlement of encroachers for a long time fore reasons best known to them, and reasons are not far to see, then necessarily a modicum of reasonable notice for removal, say two weeks or 10 days, and personal service on the encroachers or substituted service by fixing notice on the property is necessary. 

If the encroachment is not removed within the specified time, the competent authority would be at liberty to have it removed. 

That would meet the fairness of procedure and principle of giving opportunity to remove the encroachment voluntarily by the encroachers. On their resistance, necessarily appropriate and reasonable force can be used to have the encroachment removed. 

(Unquote)

In view of the above and the fact that the Society Management has wilfully, and illegally encroached upon the TMC land, I request you to immediately demolish and remove the encroachment.

Regards,

Dayanand Nene

Member, Saket Managing Committee.