Dinesh Kamath's news item 'Was Lahoria murdered for complaining about unauthorized structures?' that was published in Newsband

Was Lahoria murdered for complaining about unauthorized structures?

By Dinesh Kamath

NAVI MUMBAI: Just recently the Mumbra building collapse had killed 74 persons. Builder Sunil Kumar Lahoria, who was gunned down outside his Vashi office in February, had brought to the notice of the authorities similar 600 unauthorized structures in Navi Mumbai. They included 21 towers at Palm Beach Road.

Lahoria had also exposed some builders who were violating FSI rules to make illegal constructions and additional floors. He has also spoken about the active involvement of government officers.  

The question that is asked is whether Lahoria had to pay a heavy price for exposing all these irregularities.

After Lahoria lodged the complaint, NMMC did take action on 20 towers, while one is being probed by Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority.

Lahoria’s son Sandeep Kumar accused Navi Mumbai police for their casual approach in dealing with two accused in his father’s murder case, Bijlani and Garg. According to Sandeep the police did not even care to seize the duo’s passports after his father's murder. He demanded an inquiry against two senior policemen of Navi Mumbai.

Even the Raigad wing president of the Maharashtra Chamber of Housing Industry, Rajesh Prajapati has warned that if there was no control over the illegal buildings suddenly coming up around the proposed international airport at Panvel, Kamothe, Ulwe and other parts of Raigad, there would be a 'Mumbra' in the Raigad extension of Navi Mumbai as well. He had also spoken about many major illegal structures that have come up in Navi Mumbai and how the houses which couldn’t have more than three floors were having seven storeys.

However, NMMC authorities have given an assurance that they would soon go about demolishing the illegal structures that have mushroomed in Navi Mumbai.