Mumbaikars may lose lakhs over forestland ruling

PULLING THE CARPET: Existing houses will be deemed unauthorised despite proper documentation.

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Mumbai: After its ruling on the forest land controversy on Monday, the Bombay High Court on Wednesday gave a three-month period to petitioners to seek relief from the Supreme Court.

But construction on many incomplete projects has stopped and people like Ligy Mathews, who had booked flats in them, are worried about recovering their money.

Three years ago, Ligy Mathews had booked her dream home in the Mulund area of Mumbai, but on Monday the Bombay High court ruled that Ligy's project stood on forestland. Ligy is now worried about not just losing the home, but also the money she invested in it.

"Even if we take out that money from it and invest again, we will not get a house as big as that," Ligy bemoans.

Ligy's 28-storey building has been completed only up to plinth level.

The High Court’s decision has not just led all of Ligy's plans astray but has also created a multiplicity of other problems for over one lakh residents of the city.

Work has been stopped on several under-construction projects, leaving people at the mercy of the builders for cash recovery.

Existing residents' houses will now be deemed unauthorised despite proper completion and possession certificates.

That means that they will have no right to property over the houses and will not be able to enter into any resale agreement.

Banks will also blacklist these areas and will not disburse loans due to confusion over the title deed of the land.

But experts say no one had seen it coming.

“In 2006, matter was not known, but after this order, everyone is in a state of panic,” said real- estate consultant, Prakash Shethia.

The state government is now trying to find a solution by levying an afforestation penalty from those living on forest-land, but until the legal tangles are sorted out residents like Ligy have an indefinite wait ahead.

With inputs from Kajal Iyer