Unauthorised Construction Scandal in Mulund Exposes Deep-Rooted Builder-Official Nexus
Investigative journalist Unmesh Gujarathi exposes a major unauthorised construction scandal in Mulund. Builder Anish Joshi, with alleged political and BMC official collusion, flouts norms for profit. This corrupt nexus has defrauded hundreds of residents, leaving them with illegal flats and denied basic amenities like parking.
A Sprouts News Special Investigation reveals a network of unauthorised construction projects flourishing in Mumbai’s Mulund suburb. Builders, allegedly in collusion with civic officials, are bypassing regulations for profit. This has left hundreds of residents cheated and facing an uncertain future, pointing to systemic corruption within Mumbai’s development framework.
Our investigation uncovers how occupation certificates (OC) are disregarded, with illegal buildings rising rapidly. At the centre of this alleged scheme is Anish Balkrishna Joshi, the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Mulund (East) Mandal President. Sources indicate local MLA Mihir Kotecha’s backing for these activities, suggesting significant political patronage.
Political Connections and Commercial Exploitation
Anish Balkrishna Joshi is the son of Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Balkrishna Joshi. The family is involved in constructing ‘Dattatray Annex,’ a commercial building in Mulund East.
The building’s design allegedly misuses designated parking areas. The first and second floors, meant for parking, host commercial exhibitions and parties.
This generates illegal revenue for the builder. Residents accuse Joshi of maintaining lucrative ties with the BMC’s building department and fire brigade officials. These connections ensure regulatory blindness towards these violations.
The basement parking, built with substandard materials, remains largely unusable. While the space was technically given to the BMC for a ‘Pay and Park’ facility, local citizens see no benefit.
Over 40 flat purchasers in the building have not received promised parking slots. This has caused widespread anger among residents who feel systematically cheated.
Also Read: Inside Siddhivinayak Temple’s ₹800 Crore Governance Model.
A City-Wide Pattern of Fraud and Forged Documents
The Mulund case is not isolated. It reflects a broader pattern of construction fraud across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. In a major crackdown, the Mumbai Police’s Economic Offences Wing recently arrested five builders in three separate cheating cases.
One arrested builder, Jayshah, faces allegations of taking payments but not delivering flats to nearly 100 people. Another case involves selling the same flat to multiple buyers, cheating a 65-year-old victim of ₹76 lakh.
A parallel syndicate creating forged land maps has also been exposed in Mumbai. The BMC has identified 101 unauthorized bungalows in Malad’s Erangal area built using fake property documents. The civic body has vowed to demolish all these structures, highlighting the scale of document-based fraud.
In Kalwa, a 36-year-old scandal recently surfaced where a builder illegally constructed three buildings on government land. The builder used forged documents to sell flats, cheating 112 residents of an estimated ₹44 crore. These cases confirm that the manipulation of official records is a common tool for such illegal enterprises.
Systemic Collusion and the Resident’s Plight
The brazen nature of these activities suggests deep collusion between builders and officials. In the Malad case, the encroachers even presented fake 1960s-era property papers to the BMC to legitimise their illegal bungalows. This level of forgery indicates sophisticated operations that undermine the city’s legal and planning authorities.
For residents, the consequences are severe and personal. In Kalwa, people discovered the illegal status of their homes only after 36 years, during redevelopment plans. They now live in fear of losing their homes entirely.
Similarly, in Bhiwandi, builders collected over ₹1.33 crore from investors for a residential building that was never completed. The promised flats were never delivered, leaving families financially ruined and without a home.
The Special Investigation Team at Sprouts News finds that the cycle continues due to weak enforcement and a lucrative ecosystem of bribery. Until the network of corrupt officials and politicians enabling this is dismantled, Mumbai’s citizens will remain vulnerable. The demand for urgent, systemic intervention and accountability has never been clearer.
