Sadanand Kadam, owner of Dapoli resort which was originally owned by Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Anil Parab, informed the Bombay High Court on Monday that that he has received three demand notices issued by the tehsildars of Dapoli and Ratnagiri to pay Rs 2.5 crore and threatening seizure of property.
A division bench of Justices RD Dhanuka and Gauri Godse allowed Kadam to amend his earlier petition and challenged the new notices.
Kadam is currently in custody in a case registered by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
Kadam’s counsel Venkatesh Dhond told the bench that Parab wants to amend his pending petition to add the three communications to the list of challenges. He said the tehsildar of Dapoli issued a demand notice of Rs 2.52 crore. Then the tehsildar of Ratnagiri sent a notice for the same amount. Then again the tehsildar Dapoli sent the third notice to pay the amount with interest and has threatened with seizure of the property for non-payment.
Kadam initially filed a petition challenging a notice issued by the Ministry of Environment and Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) on January 31, 2022, asking him to remove the structure and to restore the land to its original condition. MoEF also directed Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority and Maharashtra Pollution Control Board to recover Rs 25 lakh from Kadam as environmental compensation.
According to Kadam’s plea, he purchased the land at Murud tehsil, Dapoli on December 29, 2020 by a registered and stamped sale deed executed between him and Parab. He acquired permission and use of land was converted from “agriculture” to “non-agriculture”, he commenced construction of ground plus one floor structure. Initially, he planned to use it for personal use, however, on account of the rise in tourism he intended to use it as a resort. However the structure was never fully completed.
In 2020 -21, several proceedings were filed against Parab in respect of the land and they culminated in MoEF’s direction and subsequent steps.
The HC, while permitting Kadam to amend the plea, continued an October 17 2022 order that granted Kadam liberty to move court for interim relief if any adverse action is contemplated by the respondents.
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