The Enforcement Directorate (ED) launched a massive crackdown on the illegal construction racket in the Mira Bhayander Vasai Virar area near Mumbai Wednesday morning, and raided 13 locations linked to those from the construction business.
Dozens of ED officials are carrying out the searches at these 13 locations — many of which are linked to builders and their henchmen — under the Vasai Virar Municipal Corporation (VVMC).
ED Mumbai (Zone 2) also registered an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) based on multiple First Information Reports (FIRs) registered by the Mira Bhayandar Vasai Virar Police Commissionerate in connection with illegal construction of residential cum commercial building in the Vasai Virar area.
According to ED, the case primarily involves the construction of illegal 41 residential-cum-commercial buildings in Agarwal Nagar, Nalasopara East, built on 60 acres of land earmarked for a sewage treatment plant and a dumping ground. The builders and local henchmen constructed these buildings by forging approval documents and prepared fake agreements for sale, thereby looting gullible and poor residents, the agency said.
The agency said 41 illegal buildings, which were constructed between 2010 and 2012, were demolished by VVMC at the direction of the Bombay High Court. The demolition drive made 2,500 families homeless.
Sources said one of the FIRs the central agency relied upon was filed at the Achole Police Station a few years ago, alleging that a former VVMC corporator Sitaram Gupta, his brother, and their accomplices allegedly acquired 30 acres of land belonging to private owners and an additional 30 acres of land reserved for a dumping ground and a sewage treatment plant, and sold it to various developers after acquiring fake ownership documents.
It has been learnt during the investigation that the large-scale illegal construction in the area has been going on since 2009.
Story continues below this ad
In August 2021, the Bombay High Court directed the Vasai-Virar Municipal Corporation commissioner to initiate steps against over 9,000 illegal and unauthorised structures under its jurisdiction.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd