Taking a stern view of how a developer had left tenants of a building being redeveloped in Dadar (west) in the lurch without paying them transit rent, the Bombay high court has directed collectors of areas where he has immovable and movable properties to attach and sell them to recover the amount.
A bench of Justices Shantanu Kemkar and Anuja Prabhudessai directed on September 13 that the process be completed in eight weeks. Work stopped in 2014 after nine floors were constructed in the building at the junction of Gokhale Road and Ranade Road (pic, left). On October 21, 2016, the high court directed Mhada, the state housing board, to initiate action against the landlord and developer Vilas Gaonkar of Shree Swami Constructions, including attaching his properties to recover transit rent to pay nearly 100 tenants. Among them are 16 shop owners.
The judges noted that Gaonkar's advocate had sought two more weeks despite saying on September 7 “that within a week the concrete proposal'' about the payment schedule would be submitted. Advocate Sandeep Bane, representing tenant Sameer Patil, had opposed it.
The bench declined the developer's plea to grant time.Mhada advocate Girish Utangale submitted a letter to the Mumbai collector listing Gaonkar's properties, including those in Konkan and Goa.
The judges directed the collector to take necessary steps as per the letter “in regard to the immovable and movable properties'' so as to recover the outstanding amount towards the transit rent and posted the matter for November 17.
