The high court has directed the civic body to file a clarification on the issue by March 31. It has also issued a notice to the state government on the matter.
The Bombay high court (HC) has issued notice to the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) for constructing buildings under the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) in the prohibited ‘Red Zone’ around the Dehu Road ammunition depot in sector 22 of Nigdi.
The high court has directed the civic body to file a clarification on the issue by March 31. It has also issued a notice to the state
government on the matter.
The notice was in connection with a writ petition filed last month by Shiv Sena’s Bhosari corporator, Seema Savale. Using the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005, she had revealed that the PCMC had violated the Works of Defence Act, 1903; Environment Protection Act, 1986; and Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966; in the implementation of the SRA project.
DNA had highlighted the issue in February while pointing out that the PCMC had proceeded with the huge construction project despite concerns raised by the army’s Pune-based Southern Command.
PCMC assistant commissioner and chief of slum rehabilitation department, Aziz Karche, told DNA, “The legal department of the PCMC has received the HC notice. On behalf of the municipal corporation, advocate Aniket Nikam will file a reply in the court before March 31.”
Savale pointed out that the letters obtained under the RTI make it clear that despite the warning from the army about possible security breach, the PCMC failed to prevent constructions in the notified area of up to 2,000 yards from the boundary of the depot.
Rather than preventing unauthorised construction, the PCMC itself undertook a major project of slum rehabilitation in sector 22 of Nigdi, which falls in the ‘Red Zone’, Savale added.
The civic body has constructed 11,760 tenements in sector 22 of Nigdi under the SRA through the Jawaharlal Nehru national urban renewable mission (JNNURM), for which the Centre has allocated Rs225 crore.
The Shiv Sena has urged chief minister Prithviraj Chavan to protect the ‘Red Zone’ around the Dehu Road ammunition depot in national interest. It has protested against the massive construction undertaken by the PCMC in the ‘Red Zone’, which is meant to provide a 2,000-yard buffer from the boundary of the ammunition depot.
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