Panvel Mayor Nitin Patil has questioned Municipal Commissioner Mangesh Chitale over the delay in completing the demolition of four allegedly unauthorised floors at the LK Vivanta building in Sector 22, Kamothe, where permission was granted for 11 floors but 15 were reportedly constructed.
Patil met Chitale on Tuesday to seek an explanation for the delay. Standing Committee chairman Baban Mukadam and BJP leader and corporator Paresh Thakur were also present during the meeting. The issue has resurfaced despite a criminal case being registered against LK Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd., the company associated with the building.
According to the report, the Panvel Municipal Corporation’s town-planning department had approved construction of 11 floors. The four additional floors were allegedly built without approval for the required additional floor space index, or FSI. The developer had submitted two proposals seeking to regularise or obtain approval for the additional construction, but both were rejected by the municipal administration.
Instructions to demolish the unauthorised construction were issued about five months ago. A case was registered at Kamothe police station against LK Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd. on the orders of ward officer and assistant commissioner Dr Rupali Mane. A chargesheet has also been submitted in court, according to the report.
The municipal corporation had previously sent a team to carry out the demolition, but the action was not completed. Demolition had been proposed for August 21 after the criminal case was registered. The delay prompted Patil and Thakur to express dissatisfaction with the municipal administration’s handling of the matter.
Chitale said the demolition of the unauthorised floors had already begun. He said mechanical measures were being initiated to complete the work more quickly and added that the corporation would not support unauthorised construction. The commissioner also assured the mayor that the concerned department would be directed to take the necessary action after reviewing the case.
The developer disputed the allegation that flat buyers had been cheated. Director Pradeep Patel said the company had obtained FSI and transferable development rights, or TDR, from the City and Industrial Development Corporation. He said proceedings concerning TDR available in the Panvel Municipal Corporation area were still pending before the Supreme Court and that the company was pursuing the matter through legal channels. Patel added that an occupancy certificate could be obtained in accordance with the outcome of the TDR proceedings.
The dispute has raised concerns for residents and prospective buyers because the legality of additional floors can affect occupancy approvals, property documentation and the status of homes purchased in the building. The municipal corporation’s next stated step is to accelerate demolition using mechanical equipment and complete action against the unauthorised construction.
