Illegal store in Oshiwara causes a stir

OCTOBER 31: Residents of Gulmohar Residency, a High Income Group building belonging to the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Autho...

OCTOBER 31: Residents of Gulmohar Residency, a High Income Group building belonging to the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority at Oshiwara in Andheri W, have complained that one of the flat-owners has illegally converted his ground floor flat in to a provision store. To register their protest, they staged a day-long fast on Wednesday in front of the shop. They have also formed a welfare committee to pressurise the authorities concerned to initiate action against Harjeet Singh Arora, who has altered the contours of the flat to convert it into a provision store.

Ganesh Rao, a member of the committee, told Express Newsline: 8220;The residents bought flats here because this is the only building which does not have any shops on the ground floor. Once Arora opens the shop, we shall lose our privacy. Moreover, the women and children in our building could be at risk from strangers who could come here on the pretext of purchasing goods from the shop.8221;

MHADA has written to the Oshiwara police,saying: 8220;Shri Harjeet Singh Arora has started the work of additions and alteration in his flat unauthorisedly. This office has not granted any permission for the same. You are therefore requested to take suitable action for stopping the work and cooperate to the society members in this matter.8221; The letter has been issued by the office of the executive engineer MHP-II, Mumbai Housing and Area Development Board of MHADA.

Oshiwara police say that though Arora has been told to stop the renovation work, police cannot initiate further action unless MHADA conducts an inspection and submits a report. MHADA has also has cancelled the permission given to Arora to operate a telephone booth from his flat. A MHADA official said Arora had been permitted to run the booth on the condition that he refrain from carrying out alterations to his flat. He was also told to first pay dues amounting to Rs 3,80,436 towards the cost of the flat, a MHADA official revealed. MHADA8217;s estate manager has also written to Arora,directing him to restore the changes carried out in his flat.

Admitting that he planned to open a provision store, Arora claimed that MHADA was doing him an injustice. 8220;They cannot cancel the permission just like that. The estate manager has no right to give such orders to me. They did not even give me a show cause notice. Whatever changes I have carried out in the flat have been approved by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation. MHADA has no jurisdiction on the flat,8221; he told Express Newsline.