Mumbai: A week after Vasai landslide, slum mafia back in business

Diwakar Sharma Shirish Vaktania and Anurag KambleLandslides in Mumbai and its outskirts have become common since the past couple of years On an average around 30 people residing on hill tops have lost their lives to such incidents each year since 2000 In one of the recent cases a 35yearold man and his teen daughter died in a landslide in Vasai While it has barely been a week land mafia are running their business as usual and selling plots and homes close to the site of the landslide midday visited several such places across the city to see how the mafia are operating and what they have to offerAlso readMumbai rains Vasai landslide exposes builderchawl mafiaMadhav an agent from Gokul Nagar in Kandivli East right Ankit Singh one of the owners of Aarohi Realty in VasaiApart from Vasai where chawlbuilder mafias are thriving due to civic inaction despite plaints from activists and politicians areas close to the Sanjay Gandhi National ParkmdashKandivli and Mulundmdashhad the same situation with mafias erecting illegal structures and selling them to unsuspecting citizens from lowincome group Some builders even went on to offer land or houses on forest land at a cheap price of Rs 50000 with assurance that the structures wonrsquot be razed by civic officialsVasai CircuitAn advertisement by a builderIn Vasai land mafias have offices close to the railway station to attract potential buyers When approached they talk about upcoming Metro smart city plans easy transport facilities etc to lure customers into making a dealmidday visited the office of one such buildermdashSundaram Builders and Developersmdashin the areaCorrespondent Will I get a hut in this areaVarsha Soni builder Do you want to visit the site We have different projects on VasaiNaigaon link road Whatrsquos your budget The price will depend on the size of the roommdashRs 5 lakh for 200sqft 1 RoomKitchen Rs 7 lakh for 300sqft 1BHK and Rs 9 lakh for 400sqft 2BHK And if you want to decorate your 2BHK then it will cost you around Rs 11 lakhC How far are the railway stations from the siteS Both Vasai Road and Naigaon stations are almost at equal distance and share auto rickshaws are availableC Can I check the property documentsS We have the 712 extract you can cross check that We have purchased the plot and are developing itC What about toilet bathroom drainage systemS Everything will be provided You can look at a sample room to get a better idea My assistant will take you to the siteC Is there any room for negotiationS Yes definitely Please go and check out the property first and then we can have a discussionVarsha Soni from Sundaram Builders and DevelopersSonirsquos assistant then took the correspondent to the site where construction for a 2BHK was going on and then him brought back to the officeC I have seen the property and rooms How should I make the paymentS You will be given 5 years to make the full payment We can give you a 2BHK for Rs 10 lakh In fact kuch kam kar dengeC What is the procedure to get a roomS Once you make the down payment we will show you the plot and start getting the documents in order You can even get them verifiedC Who will be the parties in the property agreementS The plot is registered in the name of Sundaram Builders We deal directly with buyersC Whatrsquos the survey number of the plot I just visitedS Its survey number is 146 2C Will buying a house here be a good investmentS Yes of course You can get Rs 3000 rent per month for a 400sqft 2BHKC What about water and electricityS We have boring water which is available round the clock Municipal water will also come but it will take some more timeC How many rooms are currently readyS We have 44 such rooms ready and some people have already started living thereA landslide took place in the chawl at Wagralpada area of Rajawali in Vasai which claimed two lives PicsHanif Patelmidday visited another realtormdashAarohi Realtymdashin the area to get a better idea of how the system operates When the correspondent enquired about a chawl room the agent showed a construction site close to Naigaon station and one Ankit Singh was present to attend to visitorsAarohi Realtyrsquos officeAnkit What kind of room are you looking for 1BHK or 2BHKCorrespondent What is the cost for a 400sqft roomA Around R75 lakh but we will give you an initial discount of Rs 50000C How long will it take for the property to be built and how will I have to payA First you need to pay Rs 1101 to book the property and then another Rs 50000 to make the sale agreement We will start construction work only after you pay Rs 1 lakh So if you pay Rs 1 lakh today your room will be ready in the next 1520 days You can pay the rest over five years without any interestC Can I verify the documents of the plotA You will get everything at my officeC Is it a private or a forest landA We have purchased the whole plot of 30 guntha from villagers and will construct around 35 to 40 rooms here Abhi offer chal raha hain khareed li jiyeC I can see raw material here but no construction whyA Itrsquos been raining heavily so we have stopped the work for some timeC Wasnrsquot there a chawl collapse here a few days ago where people diedA Haha Chawl nahi gira tha sir there was a landslide If the hill falls on the structure what can a builder do That is a legal plot too and yet there is enquiry now Thatrsquos the reason the work is stalled now We cannot place even one brick without a nod from civic officialsManoj SinghAfter the site visit the correspondent was taken back to the realtorrsquos office for further negotiation when Ankitrsquos elder brother Manoj Singh took overManoj If you purchase a room we will get you ghar patti light meter water connection modular kitchen water purifier sliding window safety grill tiles on wall tiles and green marble in kitchen and many more facilities There will also be a 6ft lane right in front of your door You will also get boring water but will have to buy drinking waterC how long will it take for me to get documents if I make the down paymentM Once 90 per cent of the total payment is made we will start giving the documents to you Electricity meter and ghar patti will be in your nameC Is it your own property How can I check the documentsM We have purchased it from someone We will give you the 712 extract to get it verifiedC What is the survey number of the plotM Itrsquos 116C I noticed construction work is on hold WhyM Itrsquos because of the recent landslide hereC Hope there is no such issue with this plotM Nahi nahi That plot was right next to the hill We donrsquot make chawls like that We buy land near main roads not near hillsC I heard 34 people died in the landslideM No no Two people died Those chawls were built around 8 years ago and this is the first time that such an incident took placeAnd because of this there is some enquiry on the civic officials too Thatrsquos why construction work is put on hold If madam referring to the additional commissioner of VasaiVirar City Municipal Corporation is not here where will we get permission to start the work We are waiting for the situation to die down We hope it will get better in a week or 10 daysC Then I will visit again after 10 daysM Book it quick rates may increase again1lApprox no of families living on hill slopes in the cityForest land for saleAgent Amannath Sharmamidday also wanted to check how properties are being erected and sold on forest land and visited an agent Murtaza who also runs Bajrang Flour Mill Shop at Gokul Nagar in Kandivli EastAgent MurtazaCorrespondent I want to buy a house on a hilltop do you have any such plot or propertyMurtaza What is your budget Forest areas now have their boundaries but you will get a room thereC What papers do I need to get a houseM We need your ration card and votersrsquo ID to transfer the property in your nameC Will I get a house receipt from the forest department or the BMCM We will give you power of attorney The last government made a rule that those who have a house here since 2011 will get room if their house gets demolished But there is a risk about whether you will get a flat if the house is demolished by forest officers We will only build the room for you the rest of the responsibility is yours Chawls on forest land at KandivliMurtaza then sent another agent Amannath Sharma to show the correspondent the location where he was offering a 200sqft forest landSharma I can construct the room at any place on the forest land There are two types of roomsmdashone with a forest receipt based on the survey conducted by the forest department and another is without receipt If you want one with the receipt it will cost you Rs 67 lakh and your house will be secure and have power connection But for those without a receipt electricity will be stolenCorrespondent I donrsquot have that big a budget Do you have anything for Rs 50000S You will not get a house but only land at that price We can construct a house on it for a total of Rs 15 lakhA receipt given by forest department after conducting a surveymidday also visited another agent Madhav from the same areaCorrespondent I met some agents here and they showed me rooms in forest land I need room or land on a hilltopMadhav I will give you a house and also get you transferred to a flat after demolishing your room in this forest land We have many ways to make that happen In fact I recently sold a house for Rs 65 lakh for which the buyer will get a rehabilitation flatC What do I have to do for thatM I will give you a room with a receipt but it will not get transferred to your name You can sign an agreement with the room owner and once the forest department is ready to demolish the house and offer a rehabilitation flat we can get that transferred to your nameWhen the correspondent said he was looking for something cheaper for Rs 50000 the agent showed him some other land in the forestC What is the process to get the land in my nameM I will connect you with a forest officer who will give you a receipt to construct a room in forest land We have contacts of several forest officers including officer Noore from the national park office in BorivliC But isnrsquot there a risk of the house being demolished later onM I guarantee it wonrsquot If any forest officer comes to demolish your house I will stop it with my contactsWe only have to give some bribeC How much will I have to payM You have to pay Rs 50000 to the forest officer and commission charges to me I will make your room for just Rs 1 lakh But getting a rehabilitation flat is not my responsibilityC Will the forest officer give me anything in writing for the landM No they will only give you a receipt to build a house on forest landlsquoBuild it at your own riskand stay firmrsquoThe situation was not any different at the forest land in Mulund too When the midday team visited Shankar Tekdi hill at Rahul Nagar they found around 100 hutments with water and light connection lining up the slope of the hill When the correspondent enquired about availability of land or a hut there several residents came up to talk While they said every piece of land was already occupied they also gave some tips on how to make it work stillCorrespondent How can I get a hut hereResident 1 You can go to local politicians They will take their cut and approve it And if you have the guts you can erect one now tooResident 2 Most of us have been sanctioned rehabilitation homes in Goregaon Once these huts are razed you can try making one Or you can go and ask if anyone wants to sell theirsResident 3 If you have guts bring material and start construction If anyone objects you must have courage to retaliate and hold your ground Thatrsquos how we have managed to stay hereWhat SGNP official has to saySGNP Director G Mallikarjun said ldquoWe have received information that many agents are making money from constructing houses and selling it to the people We also found that many agents are giving fake slips to customers and selling houses on forest land We even trapped some agents last February and registered a police caserdquoldquoThere are tribal people who have been living in the forest areas for many years and most of them are shifted to other places in SRA buildings We have shifted 11200 families earlier and the process is on for another 13600 families We have contacted MHADA to construct houses for themrdquo he addedWhen asked if buying forest land was legally possible the officer said ldquoNobody can purchase forest land now We stick receipts on the doors of the people who have legal houses and paid Rs 7000 in 2008 to the forest department If we find any agent or any of our officers involved in this matter we will take action against them We are also investigating this matterrdquoLandslidesSince 2000July 13 2022Part of a hill fell on a chawl room killing 2 people in Wagralpada area of Rajawali at VasaiJuly 5 2022A landslide took place in Ghatkoparrsquos Panchsheel Nagar There were no casualtiesJuly 18 2021As many as 32 people lost their lives in landslides in Chembur and Vikhroli Later 120 residents from the area were shifted elsewhere202029 slum dwellers died at Kurar Malad East in a landslideDanger zonesMore than 1 lakh families live on hill slopes with over 22000 families living in designated danger zones There are around 291 landslideprone zones in the city most of which are located in Ghatkopar Bhandup Asalpha Kurla Sakinaka Jogeshwari Dindoshi and Malad