After former chief minister Ashok Chavan, several government authorities have come under the scanner of the Bombay high court for the alleged irregularities in sanctioning of redevelopment plans for Sea Rock Hotel, a five-star hotel in Bandra, and also for an alleged stamp duty evasion to the tune of Rs1,200 crore.
A division bench of Justice SA Bobade and Justice Mridula Bhatkar on Thursday directed the collector to file a detailed affidavit explaining whether there was stamp duty evasion while the hotel shares changed hands on several occasions. These shares were last bought by Indian Hotels Limited.
The court has also directed the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to explain how 5.5 Floor Space Index (FSI) was sanctioned to the hotel as against to 2.49 FSI granted by the Ministry of Environment and Forests, as it fell in the Coastal Regulatory Zone (CRZ).
The court was hearing a public interest litigation filed by activist-lawyer Sonia Sood, alleging the abuse of the CM’s discretionary power while allotting additional FSI and various illegalities pertaining to the redevelopment of the hotel.
