BMC to inspect Worli towers for illegal alterations

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Monday said it will inspect two Worli towers, Sukhada and Shubhada, which are home to the state's political big shots, before demolishing illegal alterations allegedly made by the leaders.A senior civic official, requesting anonymity, said that the corporation will undertake an inspection drive on Thursday and take action later based on what they find during the drive.Which political bigwigs were issued notices?In April 2013, the corporation had issued notices to political heavyweights like Punjab governor Shivraj Patil Chakurkar, late BJP leader Gopinath Munde, ex-deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, Maharashtra state Congress unit chief Manikrao Thakre, ex-ministers Anil Deshmukh and Patangrao Kadam and others under the Maharashtra Region and Town Planning (MRTP) Act for allegedly carrying out illegal alterations.What kind of alterations were made?Unauthorized alterations included converting shops into office/other utility, constructing illegal extensions among others. After issuing notices, the civic body had asked the society members concerned to either regularize or raze illegal constructions within a stipulate period of 90 days."During a site visit by a team of officials, it was found that while some of the members had complied with the notices, some had not, despite giving them sufficient time to comply with the notices. Now, another round of inspection will be held on Thursday. If we still find irregularities on part of the occupants concerned, we will demolish them," the official said.Civic chief Sitaram Kunte too said, "We will take action based on the report."BMC had also issued notices over property tax duesBesides the notice pertaining to illegal alterations, the BMC had in February this year also issued notices to the societies over non-clearance of property tax dues during between 2006 and 2014. According to the corporation, the two societies owed it around Rs 16.36 crore in the form of taxes. "We don't deal with cases of property tax dues individually. We normally issue attachment notices to a lot to people who have the highest dues pending. If the societies' dues figure in that list next week, we will issue notice to attach the properties accordingly," another civic official said.