Vasai-Virar is one of the few affordable destinations in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) but illegal buildings are a big problem with thousands of unauthorized and unapproved structures spread across the region. Having decided that enough is enough, the Vasai-Virar Municipal Corporation (VVMC) has started a drive to demolish these buildings.

5,000 Illegal Buildings Demolished In 8 Months

Anyone visiting Vasai-Virar over the past few months will have witnessed bulldozers and wrecking machines demolishing one towering structure after another. This has become a regular feature in Vasai-Virar with the government cracking down on the illegal building epidemic in the region.

“There are about 20,000 unauthorized structures in the entire area. There may actually be more, but we have pegged it as 20,000 for now. We are taking strict action against these buildings including taking action against the builders, filing forgery cases. We have even made a couple of arrests.” proclaims Satish Lokhande, commissioner of the VVMC.

The government blames this mess on small, unorganized builders who use Vasai-Virar’s relative affordability to lure home buyers into investing in structures that do not have necessary paperwork or approvals in place. The government has already demolished over 5,000 illegal buildings over the past 8 months and has advised home buyers to:

• Check with local authorities to see whether a project has all necessary approvals.
• Appoint a good lawyer and architect to cross-check all plans.
• Apply for loans from reputed banks to ensure you are investing in a reputed developer

Are Local Authorities To Blame?

 Experts are worried that rampant illegal construction may lead to ‘Campa-Cola’ like incidents across the area, while NGOs say it will impose additional strain on civic infrastructure.

“Most people who stay in these buildings do not have the right to legal water connections, yet they have to be provided with water and basic necessities on humanitarian grounds. This puts a considerable strain on the infrastructure of the city and is also an additional burden on tax payers”, says Umkanth Wagh who runs Gyan Sanghathan Seva Sanstha, an NGO that operates in the region.

Experts also blame the government for allowing these illegal buildings to come up in the first place.

“This is the result of collusion between the purchaser, the municipal authority and the financers. Unfortunately, all of them will go scot-free and the person who is left to deal with the consequences is the flat purchaser.” says property lawyer Vinod Sampat.

The municipal authority has drawn up plans to build 2 lakh affordable homes in Vasai-Virar to solve this mess, but that will take time to complete. If you are planning on investing here, make sure you invest in projects that have all approvals in place.

Reporter         : Ashwini Priolker, NDTV

Web Editor     : Nikhil Narayan Sivadas, NDTV