Mira-Bhayandar: Nearly 18 years after they illegally altered the commencement certificate (CC) issued by the Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) to register sale deeds, two small-time developers have been booked under the relevant sections of the IPC for forgery and cheating by the Bhayandar police.
The action followed in response to a complaint filed with MBMC and the Navghar police station by Vikas Hareshwar Patil against the anomalies in 2021.
After verifications with the property registration department, town planning officials discovered that alterations were made in the original CC issued for the construction of a housing complex in Goddev Village (new survey number 4 and hissa number 7).
The area allowed for construction was limited to 849.64 sq.mt, however the accused duo who have been identified as- Rakesh Mhatre and Ravi Patil of R.K. Constructions allegedly changed it to 1658.67 sq.mt for illegally adding extra flats by deviating from the sanctioned plan and get them registered on the virtue of the altered CC.
Based on a formal complaint filed by- Yashwant Deshmukh who is a junior engineer attached to MBMC’s town planning wing, the Bhayandar police registered an offence on Thursday against the duo who are yet to be arrested.
Although the current revelations regarding use of forged and altered documents to conduct sale deeds is related to an old matter, the modus-operandi is a wake-up call for the Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority (MahaRERA) authorities as CC’s are a crucial legal document, issued by the civic authorities that officially permits a builder to start construction on a property after all necessary approvals and regulations have been met.
