Maharashtra: Shiv Sena leader razes his illegal Murud sea-facing bungalow

MUMBAI: High profile Shiv Sena leader Milind Narvekar, a trusted aide of chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, on Sunday demolished his own bungalow on Dapoli-Murud seashore in Ratnagiri district after it was confirmed that there were blatant violations of Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) rules. Narvekar is seen as one of the most powerful persons in the Shiv Sena circles; he is directly involved in most of the decision-making processes.
A senior Sena leader confirmed to TOI that in view of the possibility of stringent action by the district administration, Narevkar himself asked his architect to demolish the bungalow as early as possible. “Narvekar will seek fresh approval from the coastal zone authorities and reconstruct the bungalow,” he said.
Earlier reports of Narvekar constructing the 2,000 sq ft sea-facing bungalow on the 7,600 sq m plot without obtaining due perm-issions had stirred a controversy. The land, when sold by its earlier owners, had a house and two we-lls, besides a few trees. According to the records, Narvekar purchased it for Rs 6 lakh on July 11, 2013. Officials from the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority and ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change had visited the site earlier.
When asked for his comment, Narvekar merely said, “Politics is a game of patience.”
BJP leader Kirit Somaiya has, however, taken credit for the demolition. “We have done it; we have taken up the illegal construction work not only with the district-level coastal authority, but at the state- and national-level too. When we established that there was blatant violation of rules, particularly CRZ norms, Narvekar had no option to demolish the bungalow. Had he not razed it on his own, the authorities would have directed the district administration to carry out the demolition,’’ Somaiya told TOI.
He alleged that the district-level administration was protecting Narvekar in view of his association with Thackeray and the chief minister’s office. “I will visit the site on Monday. Merely demolition of the bungalow is not enough, we demand that the district administration initiate criminal proceedings against Narvekar for CRZ violations,” the BJP leader said.
Somaiya had, on June 30, called on the Union environment secretary in Delhi to lodge a complaint against Narvekar’s sea-facing bungalow. It was preceded by a meeting with Ratnagiri collector on June 26.