Civic body spanner in Piramal's Mumbai luxury towers plan

Billionaire Ajay Piramal’s plans to build sea-facing luxury residential towers on Gulita, the former training centre of consumer goods giant Hindustan Unilver in the Worli area in Mumbai, faced a temporary setback as civic authorities issued a stop-work notice on the demolition of building. The demotion was to be followed by the construction of new towers.

Last year, the Ajay Piramal group of companies bought the plot from HUL for Rs 452.2 crore, outbidding top industrialists such as Anil Ambani and Gautam Adani.

The Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) ) took the step following complaints by activist Santosh Daundkar, who said the plot was meant for education use and not for building residential towers.

Before approaching the MCGM on behalf of Daundkar, advocate and former IPS officer Y P Singh issued a legal notice to the Ajay Piramal group companies.

“The plot was meant for educational use. Through its by-clause, HUL sold the property. After the property was sold, Piramal group approached BMC and secured no-objection certificate from estates department. How can estate department give the NoC?” asked Daundkar. MCGM is more popularly known as BMC.

Daundkar also alleged that Piramal group had not got environmental clearance for the proposed development.

In a statement issued on Friday, Singh said the Piramal group has proposed to build sea-facing luxury residences by seeking a change of clause from authorities.

“We do hope that wiser counsels shall prevail over the developers and now they shall not go ahead to effect a ‘change of use’ by demolishing this centre of academic excellence to make way for luxury residences,” Singh said.

However, property consultants whom Business Standard spoke to said the stop-work notice was unlikely to stay for long, as change of use was allowed according to the laws and since Piramal has put in huge money, the group was likely to take it up the matter with authorities.

When contacted, an Ajay Piramal group spokesperson said their companies proposed to develop this premise for residential purposes, in accordance with development control regulations, and had sent the plans and applied for a commencement certificate from MCGM and the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority. Meanwhile, an IOD (intimation of disapproval) has come from MCGM. The companies have received instruction from MCGM to stop demolition of the premises until compliance of certain conditions mentioned in the IOD, which the companies are in the process of completing.

According to a Piramal group spokesperson, the premises were used by HUL primarily for residential purposes for senior management and partly as an in-house training facility and as residential accommodation for HUL employees attending training programmes.

The sale property also had its share of turns and twists.

The 40,479-sq. ft property was on perpetual lease by MCGM to HUL. Constructed in 1986, the property was put on the block after HUL moved its training centre to a sprawling campus in Andheri last year.

Although HUL was originally planning to sub-lease the property, it decided to go for an outright sale after the Supreme Court set aside the MCGM’s move to charge a 50 per cent premium for transfer of ownership.

While the Piramal Group companies bought the property for Rs 452 crore, outbidding Gautam Adani, Anil Ambani and others, Sahara group’s arm Aamby Valley sent out a legal notice to HUL, saying it was passed over despite being the highest bidder. However, HUL announced the sale to Piramal later.

CIVIC OBSTACLE

* Last year, the Ajay Piramal group of companies bought a plot from Hindustan Unilver for Rs 452.2 crore, outbidding top industrialists such as Anil Ambani and Gautam Adani

* The plan was to build sea-facing luxury residential towers on Gulita, the former training centre of HUL in Worli, Mumbai

* Civic authorities have issued a stop-work notice on the demolition of this building