Bombay HC order: Illegal construction of Union Minister Narayan Rane's bungalow should be demolished

The Bombay High Court has ordered the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to demolish the illegal construction in the bungalow of Union Minister Narayan Rane in Juhu, Mumbai within two weeks. In its order, the court has also asked to pay a fine of Rs 10 lakh. The court has said that the floor space index (FSI) and Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) rules have been violated in the illegal construction.

Justice R. A bench of D. Dhanuka and Justice Kamal Khata said that the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation cannot be allowed to entertain the second application filed by a company run by the Rane family, as doing so would encourage "unauthorized construction". In the application filed by the company, a demand has been made to regularize the unauthorized construction.

The court directed the BMC to demolish the unauthorized portion within two weeks and submit the compliance report to the court after a week. The bench also imposed a fine of Rs 10 lakh on Rane and directed that the amount be deposited with the Maharashtra State Legal Services Authority within two weeks.

Rane's lawyer Shardul Singh requested the court to stay his order for six weeks so that he can file an appeal in the Supreme Court. However, the court rejected his request.

The Bombay High Court has dismissed a petition filed by Kalka Real Estates, a company owned by Rane's family, considering his second application to the BMC to regularize unauthorized construction of the bungalow without being affected by its earlier order.

Earlier in June, the BMC had rejected the company's regularization application, saying there were violations in the construction. After this, the company had filed a second application in July.