Over 100 maps forged to legalize coast properties in Mumbai SIT

A special investigation team (SIT) formed following a Bombay high court order has said it has unearthed a land scam involving large-scale tampering of property records to convert Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) and No Development Zone (NDZ) lands into developable plots along the Mumbai coastline. Four people including two former govt employees were arrested last week for the scam linked to at least 102 property maps along the coast. In all, 18 govt staff from BMC and land records section have been summoned for questioning. The scam allegedly involves estate agents, govt staff and contractors who altered land records in Marve, Madh Island, Versova and other ecologically sensitive spots. The manipulation was first flagged by a farmer from Erangal in Malad, Vaibhav Thakur, who owns ancestral farm land. He had an FIR registered at Goregaon police station in 2021 against illegal constructions on his plot and adjoining lands. Thakur found that govt records had been forged to classify CRZ and NDZ plots as developable zones. However, authorities including BMC and Goregaon police failed to make much headway. Subsequently, deputy superintendent of land records Nitin Salunkhe lodged another FIR in 2021. He said maps and documents were forged between 2012 and 2020 to regularise illegal constructions in eco-sensitive zones. They were booked for forging records in connivance with officers from BMC and the Land Records Department. "Illegal construction on CRZ and NDZ lands have severely impacted ecological balance and caused huge revenue loss. A total of 18 officials from BMC and Land Records election process investigations were delayed,'' said a senior police official.

https://www.livehomes.in/news_letter