Ulhasnagar civic chief Vikas Dhakne on Wednesday ordered the demolition of a 16-storey under-construction building that has encroached on a Development Plan (DP) road. As per the floor plan, the building, called Jhalak, is to have 65 flats and four shops.
Ganesh Shimpi, assistant municipal commissioner of ward 4, where Jhalak falls, said, "After taking police security and other arrangements, we will demolish the building within a week." Former Ulhasnagar Municipal Corporation (UMC) commissioner Aziz Sheikh had on Sept 15 directed the developer, Naresh Wadhwani, to raze encroaching portions of the building, which account for 80% of the structure. He warned the developer that if it wasn't demolished, UMC would undertake the action on its own and recover the expenses from him. The builder ignored the order.
While citizen activists lauded UMC, buyers of flats and shops in the building expressed shock at the decision to demolish the entire structure. Sources said given that 80% of the building is encroaching on the road, UMC has no recourse but to pull it down completely.
A former town planning official involved in the approval for the building's construction, along with the department, is now under scrutiny for failing to vet all documents closely or conducting a site visit.
