Adarsh Housing Society was built in Mumbai to house veterans and war widows.
Welcoming the Bombay High Court's direction to the environment ministry to demolish the 31-storey Adarsh building in south Mumbai, activist Simpreet Singh, who had filed a complaint in this case, on Friday said it had been a long journey for him and he now feels vindicated.
"It has been a long journey. We started in 2006 by filing an RTI (on Adarsh building). Thereafter, in 2010, we filed a complaint with the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF). Today's high court order is a welcome step and we stand vindicated," Mr Singh told Press Trust of India.
Holding that the building was illegally constructed, the High Court on Friday directed the environment ministry to demolish the tower in Colaba area of South Mumbai and sought criminal proceedings against politicians and bureaucrats for "misuse" of powers.
While ordering the demolition, the High Court also placed on record its appreciation for Mr Singh.
Mr Singh said he is ready to go to the Supreme Court in case Adarsh Society appeals against the High Court order. "We will go to the SC and we are hopeful that the apex court will uphold the HC order," Mr Singh said.
He also said the environment ministry had ordered demolition of the building in 2011. "We were clear from day one that there were violation in construction of the building and it should be demolished."
Mr Singh recalled that people used to ridicule him when he said that his prayer to the authorities was demolition of the building.
"They used to say that investigation may happen regarding the irregularities, but nobody will direct demolition", Mr Singh said and added that justice has been done by the High Court.