Garden illegally scrapped, its FSI given to VIP societies: Activists

Mumbai: New violations have surfaced at two Worli housing societies that are home to top politicians, with activists saying a public garden was de-reserved to increase floors without requisite permissions from the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA) and the civic body.

The Sukhada and Shubhada societies are already in the spotlight for notices sent by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to some residents, from deputy CM Ajit Pawar to BJP leader Gopinath Munde, for illegal alterations and conversion of shops into offices and gyms.

In the garden case, the BMC had repeatedly requested the urban development department not to go for deletion of the open space reservation. TOI has a copy of the resolution passed by the BMC improvements committee on November 5, 2001, where it stated that the modification would serve no public purpose and would be beneficial only to the developers of adjoining plots.

Despite the objections, the state government agreed to dereserve the garden plot and transfer the floor space index (FSI) to a residential zone.

In a reply to an RTI application filed by activist Amit Maru, it was learnt that the deputy chief engineer of development plan wrote to the secretary of urban development department in 2001, that the land belonged to the estate department of the BMC and the public garden reservation could not be deleted. If deleted, the land could be merged with the adjoining plot only with BMC sanction.

“It was also noted that the land falls within 500 metres of the high tide line and thus is affected with the CRZ notification of 1991,” Maru said. “This is a clear case of corruption and land-grab by politicians. An inquiry should be initiated by the municipal commissioner and the officer hand in glove with politicians should be prosecuted under the Prevention of Corruption Act.”

Lawyer and former IPS officer Y P Singh had filed a legal notice on July 19 last year to the MCZMA chairperson and additional chief secretary, urban development department, stating that there was an illegal FSI grant to the societies.

“Under the CRZ notification there can’t be any change in user or deletion of garden reservation in the CRZ,” he said. “The FSI of a plot can’t be more than what it was on February 19, 1991, the date of CRZ notification. They de-reserved the garden plot and moved its FSI to the neighbouring plot. This was done without permission from the MCZMA and the MoEF.”
Courtesy:
Linah Baliga TNN
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Another Adarsh? Worli towers built without green clearance

MUMBAI: The two housing societies in Worli proposed, built and occupied by state politicians were constructed without mandatory environmental clearances, just like the controversial Adarsh society.

Both the 32-storey Shubhada and 14-storey Sukhada fall in Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) II as they are located within 500 metres of the high tide line. This made it mandatory for the societies to get clearance from the Maharashtra Coastal Management Zone Authority (MCZMA).

Documents with HT show that after the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation rejected the proposal to construct these societies in 1997 for lack of a no- objection certificate (NOC) from the Union ministry of environment and forests (MoEF), the societies approached the state’s urban development department instead of going to MCZMA. Subsequently, in 2003-04, the UDD, which is headed by the chief minister, issued an NOC. This despite a January 2002 MoEF order that all proposals for construction in CRZ areas in Mumbai had to be cleared only by the MCZMA.

State environment secretary Valsa Nair Singh on Wednesday refused to comment on the matter without examining the concerned papers.

“We did not need any CRZ clearance as there were already structures that existed between the sea and our plot, so we did not obtain such a nod,” said Ranjit Deshmukh, chairman of Shubhada and former state Congress chief.

“Despite not requiring CRZ nod, we approached the UDD and got an approval,” said MS Belekar, the societies’ architect

Activist Amit Maru, who exposed the irregularities in the construction of the two highprofile societies, said: “The BMC had made it clear that the society will need CRZ clearance However, the society conveniently went to UDD because MCZMA would never have allowed them to use so much floor space index and go so high.”

The societies house politica heavyweights such as deputy CM Ajit Pawar, former CM Ashok Chavan, state Congress chief Manikrao Thakre and BJP leader Gopinath Munde.
Courtesy:
25 Apr 2013
Hindustan Times (Mumbai)
Kunal Purohit kunal.purohit@hindustantimes.com
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