Former IPS officer and lawyer Y.P. Singh, representing social activist Medha Patkar, said on Friday that they would now file a criminal complaint against builder Niranjan Hiranandani and other government officials with the Economic Offences Wing. Mr Singh announced this after the Supreme Court on Friday refused to entertain Hiranandani’s plea against the Bombay high court order restraining it from carrying out any further development in its Powai township without providing flats for the weaker section of the society.
“The entire 240 acres of land at Powai was meant for mass housing, with half the flats at 430 square feet and the other half at 860 square feet. Despite the stipulation being clear and specific, the public servants, mainly from the MMRDA, BMC and Mantralaya, connived with the builder one after another to build palatial flats instead,” Mr Singh said. He added that they would demand that the existing buildings be demolished, as they were constructed in violation of norms.
Hiranandani township resident Rahila, a marketing professional, said the residents should not be penalised for the builder’s violations. “What were the authorities doing when all this happened? They were the ones who granted all the permissions, so why should we be penalised?” she said.
Meanwhile, Mukul Rohatgi, Hiranandani’s lawyer, said, they would move the high court again. “We will show the HC that we have committed no breach of the tripartite agreement.”