Bhayandar: A week after the Kashimira police lodged an FIR against the five landowners for illegally transferring rights of notified land in Mire village and breaching the Urban Land (Ceiling & Regulation) Act-ULCRA, the case has now been handed over to the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Thane (rural) police for further probe.
The multi-crore scam if probed properly could open a Pandora’s box for the realty sector, which has witnessed hundreds of acres of ceiling land being illegally sold and transferred in the twin-city.
On a complaint by Nitin Jadhav, the assistant town planner (Thane Urban Agglomeration), police had filed an FIR against five persons for allegedly inking a deed of conveyance with a private developer to transfer land measuring more than 5,000 square metres, notified in 2007, thus violating Section 20 (rule 9) of the ULCRA Act.
“Yes, considering the gravity of the case, the EOW has been directed to conduct a thorough investigation,” confirmed Superintendent of Police Dr Shivaji Rathod. While all related documents have been formally handed over to the EOW, it is learnt that the investigators are probing multiple complaints of similar nature.
In, 2016, the Thane crime branch had arrested two builders for forging documents to avoid surrender of excess land-holding to the government or giving ready-to-stay flats under the ULCRA. However, several projects are under the scanner for violation of the land revenue code as hundreds of properties notified under the ULC have been illegally sold and transferred.
This is despite bearing land under the ceiling stamps on property documents, ultimately exposing a huge difference between the records of the revenue department and those of the builders.
