Civic, revenue officers booked in Rs 250-crore land grab in Vasai

Vasai resident Michael Pradhan (34), who is fighting a long drawn battle to reclaim his mother Veronica’s 5.3 acres of ancestral land in Bangli in Sandor where seven residential buildings have illegally come up, only has 10,000 sq ft of land that he can call his own. He has filed a police complaint for 3.5 acres of land worth over Rs 250 crore against 46 people, including civic and revenue officers, advocates, architects and property developers, after collecting documents using the RTI Act to prove that the land has been encroached upon by using fake documents and dummy owners. No arrests have been made yet in the case, which has been transferred to the economic offences wing of the Palghar police, said inspector Rajendra Kamble. The over 100-year-old property that falls in the plantation and R-Zone category belonged to Paulo Ferreira, Veronica’s uncle. Over a period of time, Michael’s father John purchased the plots from Paulo and his two sons. The plots were in the name of Veronica and Michael’s sister Patricia. The affidavits and non-revokeable powers were obtained and kept in safe custody. In 1978, when John approached the land records department in Vasai for information about the land measurement (in writing), he was told that the land records were missing. According to Michael, the family did not pursue the matter till 2009, when he returned home from US and found constructions around his cottage. “I decided to use the RTI Act and was shocked to learn that the land that belonged to my mother had new owners, among them being a Patil family residing in the vicinity,” said Michael. It was during this period that Michael got a survey of the land done by a private party and found that his mother originally owned 5.3 acres of land. Seven residential buildings have come up on the land. Rajesh and Jayant Patil, who sold the development rights of the property to various builders like Shreeji Constructions, D M Developers and Emmanuel Constructions, are the prime accused in the case. The Patils originally are believed to have owned a small piece of land in the area. Michael’s uncles (mother’s younger brothers) Patrick Ferreira and Venom, who live in the vicinity, have also been named as accused. According to Michael, his mother is illiterate as she had to start working at a young age so that her brothers could get education. Michael said that he got down to gathering details about the property in 2009. Through RTI, he discovered that Vasai-Virar Municipal Corporation officers, tehsildar officers and land record department staffers had also connived to forge documents and place dummy owners of the property between 1952 and 2018. Michael said that documents obtained through the RTI showed how old records were changed using ink. “Documents show that fresh ink was used to tamper with old records. Names of people who perhaps do not exist have made it in the government records which are duly signed by officers,” claimed Michael. He alleged that till recently, while he was running from pillar to post to stop the illegal construction on his plot, at least four structures were granted occupation certificate. He said that while constructions on the land began in 2004, it peaked in the last few years when his mother went to Australia to stay with his sister. Michael also claimed that when he and his family visited their home during vacations, they were threatened and intimidated by civic and government officers.