The Maharashtra government has extended a special concession to a highrise society of former bureaucrats in South Mumbai.
The Maharashtra government has extended a special concession to a highrise society of former bureaucrats in South Mumbai.
Nearly 47 years after a 22,055 sq ft prime plot near Mantralaya was allott
ed to the Shalaka Cooperative Housing Society, the state government has modified the original condition of land use.
The government move comes at a time when the high-profile society was facing action from the Mumbai Collector’s office for alleged unauthorised sub-leasing of the first floor of the building for commercial purposes. The Collector’s office had slapped a Rs 2.18-crore recovery notice on the society in 2017, threatening to resume the plot if the society didn’t comply with the notice.
But stepping in following the society’s request, the government has revised the land use condition with retrospective effect. Sources said that this would enable the society to sidestep the Collector’s action. On June 1, based on approvals from both Revenue Minister Chandrakant Patil and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, the revenue department issued a government resolution, notifying the modification in land use.
Three former Chief Secretaries (late) Arun Bongirwar, Sharad Upasani and Ajit Nimbalkar; three former Mumbai municipal commissioners Sharad Kale, Karun Shrivastava and Jagannath Jadhav; former DGP Arvind Inamdar and former bureaucrats Lalit Doshi, AKD Jadhav and B N Makhija, among others, were among the society’s original members.
On January 13, 2017, then Mumbai Collector Dr Ashwini Joshi had objected to the alleged unauthorised commercial exploitation being carried out by Shalaka CHS. The Collector’s notice, which was accessed by The Indian Express, points out that restrictions were in place on the use permissible on the plot, allotted on concessional ground in the original land grant order (LGO). Just as the society took possession of the plot in 1972, official records show the formal land grant order (where allotment was recognised from 1972 onwards) was issued on December 16, 1987. One of the conditions (in the LGO) was that “the user of the plot will be for residential (purposes) only and for no other purpose except to the extent of 4,875 sq ft (on the first floor), which was permitted to sublet to the Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC) vide order dated August 26, 1977, on payment of a licence fee of 50 paisa per square feet.”
Alleging that the society had “violated” this condition, the Collector’s notice stated, “It has been found that the society has let out the premises to Edelweiss Capital instead of ONGC since June 2, 2000 without government’s mandatory prior approval.” Citing the government’s prevalent norms regarding commercial use, it slapped an additional lease rent and penalties, amounting to Rs 2.18 crore, from that day itself. Further, a June 20, 2016 communication between Shalaka and the Collector’s office — obtained by The Indian Express under RTI — indicates the society also let out portions to Tata Share Registry Limited, Adfactors Pr Private Ltd and Talwalkar Better Value Fitness Limited at some point.
Challenging the Collector’s order, Shalaka CHS knocked on the state government’s door. Official papers show on March 14, 2017, then chairman (late) Arun Bongirwar and secretary Anish Modi approached Patil’s office in this regard.
The latest government order favours the society’s argument. Countering the Collector’s action, the orders issued on June 1 have revised the original land use condition with retrospective effect, permitting the society to “use the 4875 sq ft portion for any commercial purpose consistent with the provisions of Mumbai’s development control regulations”. Despite the modification, the licence fee of Rs 50 paise per sq ft for the commercial use has been retained.
Fadnavis, when contacted, told The Indian Express that he was unaware of the issue. “I’ll check,” he said.
Requesting anonymity, a senior Revenue department official justified the modification. “We revised the condition to treat Shalaka at par with other residential societies allotted government lands. The stipulation that they could only rent out the space to a particular occupant did not appear to be reasonable,” the official said. He admitted that this is perhaps the first case when the land grant condition has been revised retrospectively.
Nearly 47 years after a 22,055 sq ft prime plot near Mantralaya was allott
ed to the Shalaka Cooperative Housing Society, the state government has modified the original condition of land use.
The government move comes at a time when the high-profile society was facing action from the Mumbai Collector’s office for alleged unauthorised sub-leasing of the first floor of the building for commercial purposes. The Collector’s office had slapped a Rs 2.18-crore recovery notice on the society in 2017, threatening to resume the plot if the society didn’t comply with the notice.
But stepping in following the society’s request, the government has revised the land use condition with retrospective effect. Sources said that this would enable the society to sidestep the Collector’s action. On June 1, based on approvals from both Revenue Minister Chandrakant Patil and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, the revenue department issued a government resolution, notifying the modification in land use.
Three former Chief Secretaries (late) Arun Bongirwar, Sharad Upasani and Ajit Nimbalkar; three former Mumbai municipal commissioners Sharad Kale, Karun Shrivastava and Jagannath Jadhav; former DGP Arvind Inamdar and former bureaucrats Lalit Doshi, AKD Jadhav and B N Makhija, among others, were among the society’s original members.
On January 13, 2017, then Mumbai Collector Dr Ashwini Joshi had objected to the alleged unauthorised commercial exploitation being carried out by Shalaka CHS. The Collector’s notice, which was accessed by The Indian Express, points out that restrictions were in place on the use permissible on the plot, allotted on concessional ground in the original land grant order (LGO). Just as the society took possession of the plot in 1972, official records show the formal land grant order (where allotment was recognised from 1972 onwards) was issued on December 16, 1987. One of the conditions (in the LGO) was that “the user of the plot will be for residential (purposes) only and for no other purpose except to the extent of 4,875 sq ft (on the first floor), which was permitted to sublet to the Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC) vide order dated August 26, 1977, on payment of a licence fee of 50 paisa per square feet.”
Alleging that the society had “violated” this condition, the Collector’s notice stated, “It has been found that the society has let out the premises to Edelweiss Capital instead of ONGC since June 2, 2000 without government’s mandatory prior approval.” Citing the government’s prevalent norms regarding commercial use, it slapped an additional lease rent and penalties, amounting to Rs 2.18 crore, from that day itself. Further, a June 20, 2016 communication between Shalaka and the Collector’s office — obtained by The Indian Express under RTI — indicates the society also let out portions to Tata Share Registry Limited, Adfactors Pr Private Ltd and Talwalkar Better Value Fitness Limited at some point.
Challenging the Collector’s order, Shalaka CHS knocked on the state government’s door. Official papers show on March 14, 2017, then chairman (late) Arun Bongirwar and secretary Anish Modi approached Patil’s office in this regard.
The latest government order favours the society’s argument. Countering the Collector’s action, the orders issued on June 1 have revised the original land use condition with retrospective effect, permitting the society to “use the 4875 sq ft portion for any commercial purpose consistent with the provisions of Mumbai’s development control regulations”. Despite the modification, the licence fee of Rs 50 paise per sq ft for the commercial use has been retained.
Fadnavis, when contacted, told The Indian Express that he was unaware of the issue. “I’ll check,” he said.
Requesting anonymity, a senior Revenue department official justified the modification. “We revised the condition to treat Shalaka at par with other residential societies allotted government lands. The stipulation that they could only rent out the space to a particular occupant did not appear to be reasonable,” the official said. He admitted that this is perhaps the first case when the land grant condition has been revised retrospectively.