MUMBAI: The Naigaon police have registered a case against 10 people for allegedly constructing 2,000 semi-permanent rooms on land along the upcoming Virar-Alibag multimodal corridor and seeking massive compensation from the government as project-affected people.

10 booked for building 2,000 illegal rooms along Virar-Alibag corridor, seeking PAP compensation

According to senior police inspector Sanjay Hazare, the accused land owners constructed the 2,000 brick and mortar structures, each measuring 10 feet by 10 feet, over several months in 2023-24. They have been booked under the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning (MRTP) Act, 1966, based on a complaint by Yogesh Yashwant Bhoir, 43, an employee of the Vasai tehsildar’s office.

In his complaint, Bhoir claimed that the rooms had been constructed without obtaining necessary prior permissions from the tehsildar of Vasai. The tehsildar subsequently carried out a site inspection, and issued orders/notices to the accused landowners under section 53 of the MRTP Act, providing them an opportunity to submit relevant documents, such as approved construction permits, layout plans, and occupancy certificates.

“Since the accused landowners failed to comply with the notice or submit any documents, the 2,000 rooms they had constructed illegally were demolished a week ago,” said Hazare.

The accused had also forged documents of ownership of the plots, falsely projected themselves as project-affected persons and claimed massive monetary compensation from the state government, Hazare noted.

Work on the Virar-Alibag multimodal corridor, being developed by the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), is slated to begin around March 2027. It will connect Palghar, Thane, Mumbai suburban, and Raigad districts, including Pen, Chowk, and Alibag.