Demolition sends strong message that illegal constructions will not be allowed: PCMC Commissioner Shekhar Singh

Following the protests against the Chikhli demolitions, PCMC Commissioner Shekhar Singh refuted allegations that the actions were inhumane or hasty, asserting that they were obligated to follow the National Green Tribunal’s order.

Excerpts from an interview.

What is the background to the structures demolished on May 17?

Shekhar Singh: These structures have been there for some years. And one of the activists, advocate Gambhire, went to the NGT against these 36 structures built within the blue line towards the Indrani river.

The NGT, in its order of July 2024, ordered all these structures to be demolished within six months and an environmental compensation penalty of Rs 5 crore to be recovered from the homeowners.

These people later filed a civil appeal petition before the Supreme Court challenging the NGT order. In the first week of August, the Supreme Court dismissed the petition, stating that it would not interfere with the NGT’s decision. This meant that we were required to implement the NGT order.

The homeowners have alleged that they were not given sufficient time, and the demolitions could have been done later…

Shekhar Singh: We held a hearing primarily to give homeowners time to respond. The NGT also indicated that a hearing was necessary. We acknowledged their concerns. In the meantime, the landowners and homeowners submitted a review petition to the NGT. However, the NGT dismissed this review petition. Subsequently, the landowners approached the Supreme Court to contest the NGT’s dismissal of their review petition.

This time, the Supreme Court granted a stay. We had concluded the ongoing hearings at our level, but we paused the further process due to the stay issued by the Supreme Court.

The first date set by the Supreme Court was in February 2025, following the stay. After a couple of hearings, the Supreme Court issued its order on May 4, in which it dismissed the appeal filed by the landowners.

The SC upheld the NGT’s demolition order and the fine of Rs 5 crore. Therefore, based on the SC order of May 4, we again gave them some time. We did not immediately proceed with the demolition. Starting around May 13, we informed homeowners to shift their movable items.

This is because PCMC will implement the SC’s order before May 31. After May 31, authorities cannot demolish residential structures due to an old Bombay High Court order and a subsequent Government GR issued in this regard.

So the homeowners were given about three to four days again. So, after the SC order on May 4, the demolition was planned for May 17, 13 days later.

On May 15-16, the homeowners once again approached the high court regarding the re-demarcation of the blue line by the Irrigation Department. They subsequently requested an interim stay from the Bombay High Court on May 16 to prevent the demolition by the PCMC.

The high court did not reject the petition, but it did not grant any interim relief either. Subsequently, all the final legal options were exhausted. And the homeowners, also realising that they have exhausted all the legal options, vacated their properties. The homeowners shifted all the movable items. As planned, we completed the demolition on May 17.

There is a lot of confusion surrounding this issue. Firstly, some claim that no time has been allocated. However, if you examine the NGT order, you will see that almost 10 months have been provided. During the previous six-month NGT, there was ample time for homeowners to approach various authorities and exhaust their legal remedies.

At some point, you may have to take a strict stand on the planned development of the cities. It sends a very strong message that such illegal constructions will not be allowed.

The homeowners might plead that they were ignorant, but it is incumbent upon them not to be ignorant and to try to ascertain the legality of the plot and the legality of the building from the person from whom they are purchasing the plot.

Why was the PCMC still collecting taxes from these properties and giving them water connections if they were illegal?

Shekhar Singh: The government mandates us to collect property tax even if the structures are illegal. This is a common standard practice across all cities in Maharashtra. Ideally, we shouldn’t provide water to these structures.

However, based on humanitarian considerations, various government guidelines require us to supply water and other services. Because we provide these services, we also levy property tax.

It is important to note that levying property tax, water tax, or fees for connections like MSCD (municipal service connection for drainage) does not make an illegal structure legal.

The Supreme Court, in its judgment of November 2024 regarding the case of Rajan Bajatia versus UP Awas Nigam, clarified that regardless of how old a structure is or whether property tax or electricity connections are provided, if a construction is illegal, it remains illegal.

It cannot be legalised. This sends a strong message that illegal constructions will not be tolerated.

What action will you take on the complaints that some civic officers took Rs 1 lakh from the landowners to continue construction?

Shekhar Singh: I will require a written complaint to initiate action. Once the complaint is filed, we will take the strictest action against that particular officer.