Demolition of vast illegal portions of another sprawling bungalow at Alibaug has begun, the third to go under the proverbial wrecking ball in four months. About two months after the Supreme Court threw out his plea against a Bombay high court (HC) order, businessman Ashok Mittal started demolishing illegal portions of his bungalow, which is of palatial proportions. Mittal is also the first owner of such a bungalow to undertake demolition work on his property of his own accord. In the last four months, Raigad authorities razed fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi's 30,000 sq ft bungalow in Kihim beach and 7,100 sq ft of a bungalow at Dhokvade belonging to the Mumbai-based Kundanmal family. There are over 160 illegal constructions in the beach district.
"The Mittals started demolishing the illegal portions of their property a week ago," said revenue department circle officer Jayesh Thakur. The town planner and taluka inspector of land records have been instructed to demarcate the legal portion of the bungalow, said Raigad collector Vijay Suryavanshi.
Mittal's property is spread over five acres and has an illegal construction of over 15,000 sq ft. The extensions were added against permission granted to repair original structures on a third of that area. Based on a PIL filed by the Bombay Environmental Action Group (BEAG) in June 2000, the HC on November 1, 2018 ordered the demolition of the illegally constructed portion of the bungalow within a month. BEAG alleged that the construction was done without requisite permissions from the authorities and in violation of coastal regulatory zone norms.Mittal challenged the HC's order in the SC, which dismissed his petition on March 1. The HC had said that if Mittal failed to demolish the illegal structures, the Raigad collector would have the right to undertake its demolition. The court also said that if the collector found it impossible to demolish only a part of the structure, the entire structure could be demolished.