‘Nirav Modi, Choksi’s illegal bungalows in Alibaug to be razed’

MUMBAI: Authorities have been directed to demolish “illegal” bungalows of fugitive diamond traders and PNB scam accused Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi situated in Raigad district, a Maharashtra minister said on Tuesday, days after the High Court here pulled up state government for not taking action against the buildings.

Environment Minister Ramdas Kadam gave the demolition orders after presiding over a review meeting on illegal bungalows built in the adjoining coastal district with Raigad collector Vijay Suryawanshi at the state secretariat here.

After the meeting, Kadam told reporters that 121 “illegal” bungalows, including those built by Modi and Choksi, were identified in Alibaug, a coastal town popular as weekend gateway for Mumbai residents.

Similarly, 151 unauthorised bungalows have been built in Murud area of the district, he said. All these bungalows have come up allegedly in violation of Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) norms and also do not conform to their sanctioned plans, Kadam said. “Some of these illegal bungalows belong to Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi and others. Today, I have asked the Raigad Collector to demolish the illegal bungalows of Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi,” said Kadam.

An official from the district collector’s office said Modi’s bungalow is located in Kihim village, while that of Choksi is in Awas village. In case of other illegal bungalows, there are stays granted either by district courts or the Bombay High Court, Kadam said.

“So, we have now transferred the cases to the National Green Tribunal. The Raigad police will conduct verification of documents in a month. All the cases in the NGT are likely to be cleared in the next 2-3 months,” he said.