The Municipal Corporations and their Commissioners have special powers under the Maharashtra Municipal Corporation Act. However, the High Court observed that these powers cannot be exercised for the benefit of developers by compromising public amenities. A fine of INR 2 lakh was imposed on the developer and the Thane Municipal Corporation for allowing the mall to be built on the canal.
A bench of Justice Mahesh Sonak and Justice Kamal Khata also quashed the 2005 decision of the then Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) Commissioner to regularise the construction of the famous Korum Mall in Thane on the site of a drain. Due to this decision of the court, the BMC will have to raze the construction of the mall on the drain.
The developer M/s Kalpataru Properties defied the stop work order issued by the Thane Municipal Corporation and continued the construction of the mall illegally. Even after the Municipal Corporation demolished part of the illegal construction on the drain, a new construction was carried out there.
The Municipal Commissioner decided in February 2005 to regularise the illegal construction of the mall citing the privileges they have under the Municipal Act. However, although the Municipal Commissioners have been given privileges by law, the Municipal Corporation and its Commissioners are bound to exercise this privilege only in the interest of the Corporation and the public as trustees of the property. Therefore, they cannot exercise such rights for the benefit of builders and developers instead of public facilities like drains, the court said in the order.
In 2005, the members of a society moved the court against the illegal construction of a mall which blocked the entrance of the society. Also, the water in the drain is blocked due to the construction on the drain. As a result, water accumulates in the area, it was claimed. The Court disposed of this petition while giving the above decision.
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