Bombay HC slams officials for not acting against Nirav’s illegal bungalow

The Bombay high court on Tuesday slammed the Raigad collector and the sub-divisional officer of Alibaug for not taking action against unauthorised bungalows of tycoons, including fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi, constructed on beaches in Alibaug. Using Modi's case as an example, a bench of Justices Abhay Oka and Riyaz Chagla said nothing was done for over eight years after the HC's earlier order. Recently, the SDO disposed of the case by passing the buck to the MaharashtraCoastal Zone Management Authority. "Who (does) he want to help? This actually makes his conduct highly suspicious," said Justice Oka. The court was hearing a petition by NGO Shambhuraje Yuva Kranti about inaction against bungalows of wealthy businessmen from Mumbai in CRZ areas of Versoli, Sasavne, Kolgaon, Thal, Kihim, Dokavde and Awaz villages in Alibaug. The petition, filed by advocate Uday Nighot, claimed they had purchased the land posing as agriculturists and urged removal of the unauthorised structures. The NGO said they had used the RTI law in 2016 to find out there were 145 such cases in Alibaug.