City-based non-governmental organisation (NGO) Parisar strongly refuted charges of stalling roads marked on the development plan (DP) of 1987.
City-based non-governmental organisation (NGO) Parisar strongly refuted charges of stalling roads marked on the development plan (DP) of 1987.
Parisar had been charged for stalling the laying of roads on the DP by both politicians and officers of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC). A recent district court judgment had also dismissed the decade-long stay on the construction of roads on the riverside.
Addressing the media on Monday, Parisar trustee Vijay Paranjpye said, "We are not against the roads marked in the DP, but only against the riverside roads."
The road in question stretches along the Mutha river in the city from Mhatre Bridge to Sambhaji Bridge and then to Shivaji Bridge over a distance of 4.3 km.
The work on the two stretches started a decade ago, but was halted following the trial court stay order in 2000. Parisar had moved the higher court after the stay order was lifted in 2007.
The stay was lifted on June 30, after the court dismissed the case citing lack of Parisar's locus standi of challenging the PMC.
PMC standing chairman Ganesh Bidkar had the media persons recently that the court judgment had ratified the right of the civic body to lay roads on the riverside.
Paranjpye claimed that the judgment had given no mention of such right and called the PMC statement as incorrect and misleading.
"After the court had dismissed the suit, we had asked for a month's stay on the construction of the riverside road, which was granted to us on July 1. This time was necessary for us to move the high court challenging the district court's order.
However, the PMC was silent about the continued stay and gave out the impression that the construction of the riverside roads would start soon," he said.
He also claimed that the concept of riverside road (called submersible roads by the PMC) would spell doom for the city. "If we have such a road, it would increase the instances of sudden flood after exceptionally heavy rains," he said. In their petition to the high court, the NGO would also ask for closure of the existing riverside road
Parisar would be approaching the high court against this order on July 30. The PMC standing committee in February 2011 had approved Rs307 crore for the riverside road project from Shivane to Kharadi (22 km). The panel had decided to carry out the project on design, build, own and transfer basis.
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