Illegal parts of Bandra tower razed No Arrests Yet In Missing File Case

Mumbai: The BMC has begun demolishing the illegal construction in a 14-storey tower in Bandra (West) after the developer was found to have violated several norms. 

    Civic staff on Thursday razed an over 1,500-sq-ft flat on the 12th floor of L'amour and a portion of another flat on the 13th floor. Officials said the demolition of all illegal portions will take two more days. 
    Located on 15th Road in Bandra (West), the building is in the news not just for violations of rules. The file that could have shed more light on the illegalities was found missing from the BMC's building proposal department, prompting the civic body to lodge an FIR with the Bandra police. 
    TOI had written about the file and the FIR in its April 1 edition. The police said preliminary investigations point at insider involvement in the document's disappearance. 
    According to officials, in breach of rules, the developer converted the refuge area on the 12th floor into an apartment. The flats on the tower's 13th and 14th floors are also illegal. The municipal corporation initiated the process of serving notices on the builder around a year ago. It first surveyed the tower for illegal construction, then demanded relevant papers, and finally gave the party several hearings. 
    "The process took a year. After finishing it, we initiated the demolition of the unauthorized portions," said Prashant Sakpale, assistant municipal commissioner, H-West ward. 
    The building, officials explained, was erected after it received relevant permissions; the occupation certificate was provided to it in 2009. Two storeys in it were however allegedly "illegal"; officials suspect collusion between the developer and the local civic staff. 
    The Bandra police, which are probing the complaint of the missing file, are yet to make any arrests in the case. Officers are mulling if sections under the Indian Penal Code can be added to the already invoked section 9 of the Maharashtra Public Records Act.