BMC Wakes Up To Parambir Singh’s JVPD Legacy — But Won’t Say Why

Maharashtra’s most controversial former police commissioner, Parambir Singh, has done it again — and again. But this time, karma appears to have caught up with one of the controversial legacies of his policing years. The BMC, now administered by the BJP with Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis mandating an end to ‘corruption raj’ witnessed under erstwhile Uddhav Thackeray, issued a demolition notice two months ago to Vasundhara Cooperative Housing Society in Mumbai’s plush JVPD Scheme for its 10th, 11th and 12th floors, bringing back into focus the controversial 2008 episode surrounding the property. The Vasundhara saga had its origins in a plot earmarked for police housing. Instead of potentially accommodating around 250 policemen’s families, the project reportedly benefited just 36 IPS officers, including a CBI official. The reported deal — around 3,000 sq ft flats for merely Rs 25 lakh — looks particularly startling against the lakhs of rupees per square foot commanded by property in the JVPD neighbourhood. Now, another high-profile property has landed on the BMC’s demolition radar. Kutch Terrace, owned by Mrs Rohini Devi Jadeja (who resides in the first three floors), a princess from Gujarat’s Kutch region, has been served a notice covering four allegedly illegal floors — the 10th through the 13th. But the real question is not merely why these floors were allowed to come up. It is why the civic administration is suddenly reluctant to talk about them. Ward officer Chakrapani Alle directed Short Post to Building Proposals Department officer Sachin Ghevde. Ghevde confirmed the notices and promised further details. Thereafter, however, calls and messages went unanswered. Additional Municipal Commissioner Vipin Sharma has similarly maintained radio silence despite repeated efforts of due diligence. Chakrapani too is suddenly silent. Why is the BMC officialdom holding back on details related to these high-profile societies?