Mumbai: Sadanand Kadam, a close aide of Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Anil Parab, has assured the Bombay High Court that, within one month, he will demolish the excess and un-authorised portion of the Sai resort in Khed, Ratnagiri district, which was allegedly in violation of the norms, at his own expenses.
Kadam’s advocate Saket Mone informed the court that he had received an e-mail from Kadam saying that the un-authorised portion will be demolished within three months. However, he has orally informed that the said demolition will be carried out in a month’s time. The HC was hearing a petition filed by Kadam challenging the demolition notice issued by the additional collector on December 6, 2023.
“He (Mone) states that accordingly, the affidavit/undertaking of the Petitioner (Kadam) will be filed in this Court on or before 18th March 2024, undertaking that the said excess and un-authorised portion of the Resort will be demolished within a period of one month,” Justice Madhav Jamdar noted on Wednesday. The statement was made pursuant to the high court asking on January 12 whether Kadam was himself willing to demolish the unauthorised portion.
At the time, Mone had argued that actions against Kadam are mala fide and there are several illegal structures constructed in violation of the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) Notification.
To this, Justice Jamdar had said: “Although, action not taken against other illegal structures, cannot be a ground for protecting the structure constructed by the Petitioner, if the same is determined to be unauthorised.”
The court has asked special counsel for State, Rajiv Kumar, to file an affidavit stating action taken against other such unauthorised structures. The HC has kept the petition for hearing on March 18. Till then, the court has extended interim relief against coercive action to the resort.
The property was purchased in February 2007 by five partners, including Kadam and Vijay Bhosale. A dispute arose between them, which was settled through consent terms in May 2017. Thereafter Bhosale retired from the firm. The sub-divisional officer, in August 2021, granted non-agricultural (NA) permission for the property to be developed into a resort.
However, based on a private complaint filed by Bhosale, Kadam received a show cause notice on October 26, 2023, that he breached the NA permission. Subsequently, the NA permission was revoked On November 24, 2023. Despite Kadam filing an appeal against it, the demolition notice was issued.
Kadam has also filed a petition challenging the demolition order passed on January 31, 2022 by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change under the provisions of the Environment (Protection) Act.
