Mumbai, Oct. 20: Sachin Tendulkar has paid a fine of Rs 4.35 lakh for moving into his new bungalow in suburban Bandra without obtaining the mandatory occupancy certificate.
A senior Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) official today said: “Tendulkar was served a notice under Section 353 of the BMC Act for moving into the new property without the occupancy certificate, and seeking a recovery of Rs 4.35 lakh as penalty for illegal occupancy. On October 5, he paid the fine, and on October 14 we granted him the certificate.”
On September 28, the master blaster performed a vastu puja at his bungalow on Perry Cross Road in Bandra, in the presence of his mother and immediate family members signifying a formal entry into the property.
However, the municipal authorities objected to this on the ground that he had not been granted the occupancy certificate.
Initially, the BMC authorities were reluctant to impose a fine on the cricket icon, but Mumbai mayor Shraddha Jadhav of Shiv Sena took a strong stand that there could not be exceptions to civic rules.
State textiles minister Naseem Khan, who is the guardian minister for Mumbai suburbs, was in favour of the BMC sparing Tendulkar such minor embarrassment and had requested municipal commissioner Subodh Kumar to waive the penalty.
However, the cricketer responded to the notice and deposited the fine to get the formal clearance.
Tendulkar had purchased Dorab Villa, a one-storey 1920s villa once occupied by a Parsi family, in December 2007 for an estimated sum of Rs 39 crore. He constructed a five-storey dream house on the plot after demolishing the old structure.
Tendulkar has spent his childhood in Sahitya Sahwas, a middle-class housing colony reserved for litterateurs in the eastern part of Bandra as Sena chief Bal Thackeray’s neighbour.
After that he moved into La Mer, a multi-storeyed luxury apartment, in Bandra west where he had ad filmmaker Prahlad Kakkar and actress Aishwarya Rai as his neighbours.
Mumbai tour operators who are expecting good business from the new bungalow are considering making it a stop for tourists who visit the city.
