For more than ten years, Kishore Valchand Jain has been hitting out at the powers that be, in a non- violent manner.
Every time he feels strongly about an issue, he makes his opinion written on a 3 by 12 feet banner and puts it on his jewellery shop at Hill Road in Mumbai’s Bandra (West).

Because of these banners, his shop has become a landmark for people visiting the locality.

In early 2007, Jain found himself in a situation where he had to do much more than expressing himself through banners.

Jain discovered that the property opposite his bungalow in Lonavala on Mumbai- Pune highway was being demolished to make way for a hotel.

It was a residential area and this was the first instance when a hotel was about to come in the near vicinity of Jain’s house.

In February 2007, he filed an RTI application with the Lonavla Municipal Corporation (LMC) asking if it gave the permission to bring down the structure and construct a hotel- Bajaj Highland Retreat, on that piece land. Jain also demanded the copies of all the documents which were required to build the hotel.

As per the information he received, the hotel owner Sanjay Bajaj never approached the LMC for the sanction to open a hotel on that property.

Jain wrote to the Corporation asking it to seal the hotel and demolish that part of the property which was constructed in violation of building bylaws.

The hotel owners obtained a stay order from Vadgaon court.

Jain intervened in the case as an affected party and informed the Court how a hotel was under construction in residential area.

“It is a narrow lane. The builder of the hotel did not make any separate parking space and used the lane for parking. It blocked the entire passage,” said Jain.

In July 2007, the Vadgaon Court passed an order removing the stay it had given earlier. Court directed the LMC to demolish the property.

However, things remained unchanged.

The builder then moved Pune district Court to obtain stay on the orders of Vadgaon court.

But the Pune court decided in favour of Jain and asked the LMC to immediately stop all the activities in the hotel.

This time also the Court’s orders fell on deaf ears. Further, the property also started getting expanded. Another hotel came adjacent to Jain’s house.

Jain moved the Mumbai High Court. On January 14, 2009 the Court directed the LMC to demolish the unauthorized construction in the bungalow and seal the property. Court also asked the Corporation to produce an action taken report in the next hearing.

In the next hearing LMC submitted an affidavit saying that it had sealed the hotel, when it was actually running like before.

To prove that the agency was lying, Jain sent some of his friends to stay in the hotel. The bills obtained by them were produced in the Court

On June 28 this year, the Court issued contempt notice against Yogesh Godse, CEO,of the Corporation

Relying to the notice, the main officer of the LMC admitted in court that the hotel owner gave them wrong information. He said that that the Corporation did a mistake by admitting the affidavit in the Court without verifying the facts.

During one of the subsequent hearings the Court said that the state government should close the LMC as it was not working in tandem with the law.

The Court also directed the Corporation to close down the hotel and demolish  the unauthorized construction in  the premises.

Finally, on August 9, the LMC immediately acted and sealed the illegal part of the hotel.

“Without the RTI Act, I would have come to know that the hotel was running without the permission of the Corporation. LMC officials were on the side of the hotel owner and were not ready to give me any information,” said Jain.