RTI used to put ‘official’ seal on Mumbai Coastal Regulation Zone scam

MUMBAI: A group of builders, landowners and officials in the city's land administration system forged and manipulated sensitive govt maps to illegally convert no development zone (NDZ) plots into developable ones and exploited Right to Information (RTI) Act pleas to lend an official sheen to them, says a chargesheet filed by the Special Investigation Team probing the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) scam.
The probe found that the accused would initially pinpoint NDZ properties and manipulate the documents in connivance with certain govt officials. After a while, they would file RTI applications to access the forged information, which would appear genuine and as a matter of record in the RTI replies. The documents would then be used to seek construction approvals.

Some of the RTI applications filed by the accused in the CRZ scam were in the name of arrested businessman Imam Shaikh (62), while many were filed under fake names, though all were ultimately linked to Shaikh's mobile phone number. These documents were allegedly passed to a network of co-conspirators, including retired clerks and private contractors, and later used to get approvals for illegal structures on ecologically protected land, the SIT chargesheet says.
Unit 8 of the crime branch submitted a 4,000-page chargesheet, exposing a conspiracy involving govt and BMC officials, real estate contractors, touts and private businessmen. The scam has resulted in illegal conversion of NDZ into commercial areas, allegedly for huge monetary gains.
According to the probe, the accused manipulated 102 property maps and records over the years by adding fake city survey numbers, boundaries, etc. Through RTI application, the forged details and documents were sought and used to get approvals for constructions from BMC officials, causing revenue loss to the govt and ecological damage.
Most of these properties are located in Malad, Madh, Erangal and Marve—locations that are protected under coastal regulation norms.
The chargesheet outlines the roles of three primary accused currently in judicial custody.
Narshim Puttavalu, a civil contractor since 2004, is accused of constructing bungalows illegally in Erangal, Madh and surrounding areas between 2011 and 2019.
The SIT has found that Narshim, in collusion with Imam Shaikh, was instrumental in fabricating documents and ensuring illegal constructions appeared legal.
Shaikh is a landowner who had close business ties since 1992 with the now-deceased suspect Anil Patil, and later Narshim from 2010. He allegedly played a central role in orchestrating document forgery, manipulating land records through fake RTI applications, and demarcation of maps. His involvement was allegedly proved through contact numbers linked to RTI filings and applications over land not legally owned by him.
Jaywant Gangurde alias Sanjay (59), a retired clerk from the office of the deputy superintendent of land records, Mumbai suburbs, was arrested on March 12, 2025. Between 2012 and 2019, he allegedly leaked govt maps, including boundary and permanent measurement maps, to land agents and applicants in exchange for money. He was allegedly in direct touch with RTI applicants, contractors, and estate agents, playing a key part in enabling the scam from within the land records office. Police last week arrested Meena Madhne, a former deputy superintendent of land records after her alleged role cropped up in the manipulation. Police said that they will file a supplementary chargesheet against her later.
The chargesheet has been filed under Indian Penal Code sections 420 (cheating), 461 (dishonestly destroying record), 467, 468, 471 (forgery), 409 (criminal breach of trust by public servant), 120(b) (criminal conspiracy) and 34 (common intention).
Several of these documents, including CRZ demarcation maps, are now undergoing chemical forensic testing to check for tampering.
A senior SIT official said, "This is just the beginning. We believe there are several more links in this chain, including senior municipal officials and private developers who will be named in subsequent supplementary chargesheets."
Three separate teams of SIT are likely to file chargesheets into three other similar illegal constructions and land record tampering cases across Mumbai's suburbs.