Sachin Tendulkar has finally paid the Rs4.35 lakh penalty to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to procure the occupation certificate (OC) for his ground plus four storey bungalow on Perry Cross Road at Bandra (West).
DNA had first reported on September 29 that Tendulkar had moved in his new bungalow without obtaining an OC.
Following the DNA report, the BMC had issued a notice to the cricketer under section 350 (A) of the BMC Act seeking a recovery of Rs4.35 lakh penalty as illegal occupancy charge.
B Haridas, deputy chief engineer of the building proposal department, confirmed: “We have received all the required no-objection certificates from Tendulkar, who also paid the fine. So, the OC has issued to his new bungalow.”
The BMC had charged Tendulkar Rs50 per sqm as the bungalow is spread over 836 sqm and he has lived there for less than a week. “So, as a lump sum amount Rs 4.35 lakh, including penalty charges, was paid to the civic body,” said a source.
“Tendulkar did not want any concession from the BMC as it would have sent the wrong message. He was not aware that an OC is mandatory before moving in the new house though it is fit for habitation. As a law-abiding citizen, he wanted to pay the fine to correct his mistake and send a message that he is not above the law,” said a source close to the cricketer.
Tendulkar’s new bungalow has 10 spacious, air-conditioned rooms and state-of-the-art amenities. The ceiling height in the main living room is almost 20 ft while the bungalow has stone cladding. “The uniqueness of the 8,998 sqft bungalow is that it has a glass bridge connecting the lobby of two separate structures. At one side is his bedroom and on the other are his children’s rooms,” a source said.
Tendulkar has spent almost Rs10 crore to construct the bungalow after pulling down an old bungalow Dorab Villa, which he had bought from the Satra Group for Rs35 crore three years ago.
