PALGHAR: Maharashtra minister Ganesh Naik announced on Friday that a total of 141 unauthorized buildings in the Vasai-Virar region of Palghar district will be demolished following the 10-day Ganpati festival.
Naik made the remarks after visiting victims of a building collapse in Virar East on Wednesday, which resulted in 17 fatalities. The incident occurred when a building collapsed onto an adjacent vacant tenement at Vijay Nagar at 12:05 am on that day.
“This incident is extremely unfortunate. People often resort to living in illegal structures due to circumstances. We are facing the consequences of years of negligence that allowed such buildings to proliferate unchecked,” he stated.
“We have identified 141 unauthorized structures across the Vasai-Virar area. Following the Ganesh festival, these buildings will be demolished. I fully support the municipal commissioner in taking strict measures,” Naik affirmed.
The Ganesh festival, highly celebrated in Maharashtra, commenced on Ganesh Chaturthi (August 27) and will conclude on Anant Chaturdashi (September 6).
Addressing the rehabilitation of residents living in these structures, Naik mentioned he would discuss the issue with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy CM Eknath Shinde after the next cabinet meeting.
The minister also conducted a high-level review meeting with senior officials and elected representatives to evaluate the situation and devise a strategy to avert such tragedies in the future. Present at the meeting were District Collector Indu Rani Jakhar, Vasai Virar Municipal Corporation (VVMC) Commissioner Manojkumar Suryavanshi, MP Hemant Savara, and MLAs Sneha Pandit-Dubey and Rajan Naik.
Meanwhile, Pandit-Dubey called for stringent action against officials allegedly shielding developers involved in unauthorized constructions. “Illegal buildings that jeopardize citizens’ lives will not be tolerated. The administration must act decisively to ensure that such incidents do not recur,” she asserted.
She criticized past and present municipal officials for their inaction despite numerous warnings and demanded the establishment of dedicated teams to identify unauthorized constructions, along with swift action against culpable officials. Pandit-Dubey highlighted a purported connection between certain officials and the land or chawl mafia, warning that without dismantling this network, dangerous constructions will continue to emerge.
