Death of Shiv Sena leader’s son: Seven Sea Waterpark was razed without any due process, reveals RTI

MUMBAI: A month after Seven Sea Waterpark and Resort, a popular aqua park, was demolished in Virar following the death of Milind More, 49, the son of former Thane district Shiv Sena president Raghunath More, a Right To Information (RTI) reply revealed that Vasai-Virar Municipal Corporation (VVMC) razed the premises without serving any notice nor following any due procedure.
John Pereira, an RTI activist, who lives just two kilometres away from the resort, wrote to the assistant commissioner of VVMC and public information officer of Ward-A, the jurisdiction under which the resort came, seeking answers on the procedure followed by the civic body before demolishing the structure and whether they served any notices for the same.
On August 20, Pereira received a response from the civic body saying they searched for the documents but could not find them. “It is clear that no notice was served before the demolition and no procedure was followed by the VVMC. They demolished the structure following the orders from the chief minister Eknath Shinde,” claimed Pereira.
On July 29, the Shiv Sena leader’s son suffered a cardiac arrest after being violently beaten up by an autorickshaw driver and nine of his accomplices, including women. The altercation was a result of an accident in the parking lot of the park in which a reversing autorickshaw hit More’s nephew, Kunal, trapping his leg under the rear wheel.
A day after the incident, the civic body on July 30 demolished the building as some of its owners were allegedly involved in assaulting More.
Pereira, a native of Virar, said that there are at least 50 resorts across Vasai-Virar which are illegal and operate on government lands flouting crucial Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) norms and restrictions. “The VVMC, however, took prompt action against Seven Sea Waterpark and Resort as the Shiv Sena leader’s son was involved. I wanted to find out on whose orders the action was taken so swiftly against this particular resort,” said Pereira.
Pereira also said that in the past, a few resorts were partially demolished but the action was just for the show. These resorts were later repaired and started operating. “These parks not only violate environmental norms but are also illegally operating where several cases of children drowning have been reported due to the negligence of the staff. But no action was initiated by the VVMC,” said Pereira.
The Seven Sea resort owners said the demolition was undertaken without issuing any notice to them or following any due procedure. However, when HT contacted a VVMC official, he said that notices were issued in the past for violations. “The VVMC has supposedly lost these notices as they have replied in the RTI that they cannot find them,” said Pereira.