THANE: Architect Sandeep Patil, who previously exposed a significant fraud involving MahaRera certificates in Dombivli, has returned to court. Last November, his efforts led the Bombay High Court to order the demolition of 65 illegally constructed buildings that were built using forged permissions. Patil has now filed a petition for contempt proceedings against the Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC) and the state urban development department (UDD), claiming they have willfully ignored the court’s directives.
The court had mandated that the government integrate the building permission systems of all 554 local bodies in Maharashtra with the MahaRera website to prevent similar frauds. It also ordered that until the integration is complete, local bodies must publish all sanctioned building permissions on their websites within 24 hours of approval. Patil stated that KDMC and several other corporations have not adhered to these directives, with no noticeable progress on the integration.
The 65 buildings, which were constructed using forged permissions around 2020, misled thousands of homebuyers—mostly middle-class families who invested between Rs 15 lakh and Rs 40 lakh after taking housing loans—into believing they were legitimate. Patil uncovered the fraud in 2021 and initially filed a complaint with KDMC. When no action was taken, he filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in HC in 2022, resulting in an FIR against 65 developers and the formation of a special investigation team by Thane police, which led to the arrest of at least 15 individuals, including builders and officials involved in the scheme.
Following the HC’s demolition order, flat owners and opposition leaders organized widespread protests. In response to growing pressure, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy CM Eknath Shinde assured residents that the government would protect “innocent homebuyers.” The UDD held multiple meetings to explore legal and humanitarian options. Although KDMC had resumed demolition plans recently, they were paused after residents of one building threatened self-immolation at the UDD’s urging.
