The Maharashtra government has cancelled a portion of a large reservation for the economically weaker sections of society near the University of Pune's Khadki gate.
At a time when housing has gone beyond the reach of the poor in the city, the Maharashtra government has cancelled a portion of a large reservation for the economically weaker sections (EWS) of society near the University of Pune's Khadki gate.
The remaining portion of the reservation for EWS and a children's playground near the Padalvasti slums in Bopodi, off Aundh Road, are also under threat of deletion.
This is because they are located on a massive plot of land where Avinash Bhosale Infrastructure Pvt Ltd (ABIL) is developing its super luxury residential project, Castel Royale Towers.
The company is named after the prominent city builder, well known for his strong political connections. Asked by DNA to provide details about the deletion of EWS reservation on its plot, ABIL's chief executive officer (CEO), Sudhanshu Purohit, responded with a terse statement. "ABIL Corporation has complied with all the necessary regulations stipulated by the government," he said in reply to a questionnaire.
Prominent orthopaedic surgeon, Dr Satyasheel Naik, who is the original title holder of the land, refused comment on the matter.
"We have sold the land to ABIL group, and they are responsible for the land now. Please talk to them regarding the reservations on the land," was all he said.
Significantly, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has remained silent rather than respond to a September 16, 2009, letter from the Maharashtra government's urban development department, asking for its opinion on the deletion of EWS reservation from the plot.
The ABIL project is located next to the Padalvasti slums with 840 homes and about 10,000 slumdwellers in Bopodi who are already waging a bitter struggle against their eviction by the military authorities.
The slumdwellers, who have moved court, maintain that only some houses are on defence land and there is no reason to evict the entire slum. They suspect that their eviction is related to the Castel Royale Towers project coming up in their backyard.
Purohit in his reply to DNA said, the super luxury Castel Royale project envisages construction of five towers of 100 metres and 26 floors each. Three towers have been planned in the first phase, of which two have been completed.
The apartments in these towers will range in size from 8,000 square feet to 3,500 square feet. Numerous high-end amenities like tennis courts, salon and banquet hall will also be a part of the project.
Although the price was not mentioned, it was apparent that each flat will be priced at a couple of crore rupees.
Documents accessed by DNA, relating to the environmental clearance granted by the Maharashtra government to this project state that the total estimated cost of the project is in the range of Rs 380 crore.
File inspection by DNA under Section 4 of the Right to Information Act, 2005 (RTI) at the PMC revealed that as per a government resolution (GR) dated January 3, 1990, the Maharashtra government's urban development department deleted the EWS reservation of 13,715 square metres of the total 34,289.12 square metres that was under EWS reservation on this plot.
Documents show that in 2007, the original title holder of the land, Dr Satyasheel Naik, executed a power of attorney (PoA), agreement with M/s Shashibindu Construction Pvt Ltd, represented by its director, Avinash Bhosale. The PoA states that Shashibindu Constructions Pvt Ltd will be solely responsible for removal of the various reservations on the land.
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