BMC cites FSI violations, scraps Pure Drinks' lease on Campa Cola plot
In a significant twist to the Worli Campa Cola plot saga, an additional municipal commissioner has directed that Pure Drinks' 999-year lease be terminated. The official has held that lease conditions have been breached because of illegal constructions on the plot.
Deepak Chitnis, lawyer for Pure
In a significant twist to the Worli Campa Cola plot saga, an additional municipal commissioner has directed that Pure Drinks' 999-year lease be terminated. The official has held that lease conditions have been breached because of illegal constructions on the plot.
Deepak Chitnis, lawyer for Pure Drinks, said on Friday he has been informed of the order to terminate the lease, but such an order would only mean that the BMC continues to be the owner of the plot and flat owners would have rights only to their structures, not the land. Chitnis said Pure Drinks will certainly challenge the termination order.
The Campa Cola compound has been at the centre of a legal controversy, with the Supreme Court in 2013 having first upheld the civic administration's demolition orders. But later, the apex court toned down its order and allowed the compound's six societies to apply to the state for regularization.
The Bombay high court had in March directed an additional municipal commissioner to decide on the matter after a fresh hearing of residents and a developer on whether the perpetual lease executed in 1962 by the BMC should be continued in favour of Pure Drinks, the promoter company.