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Slum rehab scheme in Nigdi illegal: Shiv Sena

It has also alleged that the the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation has carried out the project under the Jawaharlal Nehru national urban renewable mission (JNNURM), in the Red Zone.

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The Shiv Sena has accused the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) of violating environmental norms by constructing 11,760 tenements in Sector 22 of Nigdi under the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) scheme.

It has also alleged that the civic body has carried out the project under the Jawaharlal Nehru national urban renewable mission (JNNURM), in the Red Zone.

The party on Friday filed a public interest litigation (PIL) in the Bombay high court and also wrote to Union minister of housing and urban poverty alleviation, Kumari Selja, drawing her attention to the alleged anomalies and asking her to probe the matter.

On Monday, Kumari Selja and deputy chief minister, Ajit Pawar, would be attending a function to hand over the dwellings to the beneficiaries. Till now 1,200 beneficiaries have been allotted dwellings, and the remainder would be handed over the keys on Monday. The Centre has allocated Rs225 crore for the project, which started in 2007. PCMC officials were unavailable for comments on the issue.

Sena corporator, Seema Savale, alleged that the PCMC has deliberately violated the Works of Defence Act, 1903 and the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.

“The area where the tenements have come up is a Red Zone area. The Union defence ministry, in a notification issued in December 2002, said that land within 2 square km from outer wall of the Central Ammunition Depot, Dehu Road, is to be kept free of any obstructions and buildings (safety zone),” she said.

She had filed an RTI application with the Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad Slum Rehabilitation Authority on November 29, 2010, asking for a copy of the no objection certificate (NOC) granted by the defence authorities.

The SRA claimed that the land did not come under the Red Zone and hence NOC was not required from the defence authorities. However, Sena leaders claimed that the area comes under the Red Zone and therefore, the project is illegal.

The Sena also alleged that the PCMC had started the project without obtaining “prior environmental clearance certificate”. It also questioned the SRA’s commencement certificate to the PCMC for the project. “The SRA is entitled to give such certificates when it involves slum land. But in this case it was ‘no development land’,” alleged Savale. She also questioned why technical sanction for tenders of the project was taken two years after it was approved in 2007.

She also said that whenever such projects are undertaken, opinion and consent of 70% of the slum dwellers is mandatory. As there were no slums in Sector 22 and no consent taken before the commencement, it violates the Slum Act, 1971, thus making the project illegal. “The PCMC has included names of some who are not entitled to rehabilitation under the provisions of the Slum Act, 1971,” Savale alleged.

The PCMC accepted tenders for construction of the project at an exorbitant rate of Rs372 crore. Yet, the construction is of poor quality, Sena leaders contended. Savale alleged that the PCMC has not followed the directives of the urban development department of the state government while initiating the process of modification of the development control (DC) rules till date.

Savale requested the Union minister to pass an order on the above mentioned irregularities — especially against the acceptance of escalated tenders, even though there was no technical sanction, and against the fact that the project consultant had prepared the proposal suppressing major facts.

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