As per norms, redevelopment of slums and old buildings is not allowed if they fall within 500 metres of defence establishments. The state government wants the norm relaxed, and it has asked the Union defence ministry to look into it.
As per Defence Act 1906, redevelopment projects will need permission of defence establishment if they fall within 500 metres of any defence establishment, the reason being security threat. The norms were framed by the British to protect defence properties and establishments.
After the Adarsh housing scam, defence establishments virtually stopped giving any such permission, and that has affected many housing and SRA projects in the city.
Nirmalkumar Deshmukh, chief, slum rehabilitation authority (SRA), admitted that they were seriously pursuing the issue with the Union govt. "We hope it would be resolved soon as that would give relief to thousands of people," Deshmukh said.
"Due to this draconian norm, many development and redevelopments projects have been stuck for the last several years. It's next to impossible to get permission from the defence ministry. The irony is that many buildings belonging to the defence establishment are in a very bad condition, and many of their premises have been occupied by slum dwellers. They however are reluctant to give permission," said a senior government official.
Another officials said that in Juhu, defence premises were regularly being rented out for wedding functions. "Does that not invite security threat? People are living in bad conditions. We have to reconstruct their houses as per the SRA scheme. But defence establishments are not giving us permission for that citing reasons of security. The new defence minister should seriously look into this issue as that would give relief to thousands of people," he added.
Sunil Mantri, president, NAREDCO, developers' umbrella body, said Defence Act 1906 did not make sense in today's world. "Using satellite and Google images, anti-social elements can do anything they want. They do not need to go physically to get images of these unused premises. These restrictions need to be changed immediately in the larger interests of the people," Mantri added.
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