Plea before Bombay High Court against demolition of resort on land formerly owned by MLC Anil Parab

A plea has been filed before the Bombay High Court challenging the proposed demolition of a resort situated on a land formerly owned by lawmaker Anil Parab who belongs to the Uddhav Thackeray faction of Shiv Sena..The petitioner, Sadanand Kadam, has challenged a notice issued by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MOEF & CC) for demolition of Sai Resorts NX.Kadam had purchased the concerned plot of land from Parab in May 2017.In September 2017, the Sub-Divisional Officer under the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act allowed conversion of the agricultural land for non-agricultural purposes.Although initially, the plan was to utilise the land for personal use, looking at the rise of tourism in Dapoli, Kadam decided to develop a commercial space / resort.Kadam clarified that the structure being constructed on the plot was not complete and hence was not being utilised for personal or commercial purposes..The petition filed through Vidhii Partners said that around 2020-21, on account of political rivalries with Parab, several false and frivolous complaints and proceedings came to be initiated against Parab in respect of the land.One such complaint led to the notice dated June 22, 2021 by the sub-divisional officer stating the structure is illegal and contrary to the laws and, hence, ought to be demolished.The notice was challenged before a civil court which stayed the same.In July 2021, BJP leader Kirit Somaiya approached the National Green Tribunal (NGT) claiming the commercial project was in violation of Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) norm.He sought its demolition as well as initiation of criminal proceedings against Parab and others and the plea is still pending, it was pointed out..On December 2021, the District Collector, Ratnagiri, purportedly passed a suo motu order reviewing and revoking the September 2017 order converting the land to ‘non-agricultural’ use.With an appeal against this order pending, the Collector also issued a show cause notice asking why the MOEF should not order demolition of all constructions and removal of roads to the subject land..Subsequently, Kadam came to know about an Office Memorandum (OM) by the MOEF issuing directions including removal of the entire structure and restoring land to original situation.This OM was sent to the State Environment Department, Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA) and Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) for action report.MOEF also constituted a joint committee to assess the monetary value of the damage caused to the environment due to the CRZ violation and allegedly without granting an opportunity of hearing to Kadam, they sent an action report to the MOEF.The District Collector wrote to MOEF in August 2022 pointing out the stay order of the civil court and the pending NGT proceedings.However responding to this, Somaiya immediately addressed a letter to MOEF contending that the pending proceedings had no connection with the OM, and there was no embargo on the Collector to proceed to take action..Although no further steps have been taken, apprehending steps from the authorities towards the notice, the petitioner moved High Court seeking quashing of the OM and subsequent letters written to MCZMA and MPCB.