Indian Express 01.12.2010
Don’t allow work in Defence area without their NOC: state to BMC
sharvaripatwa Tags : adarsh scam Posted: Wed Dec 01 2010, 06:33 hrs
Mumbai: Days after the Adarsh Housing Co-operative Society scam came to the fore, the state government has directed the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) that a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the defence agency concerned is mandatory before allowing any development work on land near any defence area.The BMC has also been directed to make available the maps and plans of Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP) to all the concerned planning agencies such as the MIDC, SRA and MMRDA before November 30. The state government has also directed the BMC to make available copies of circulars and orders on Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) received from the state’s urban development (UD) and environment departments, and the Ministry of Environment and Forest (MOEF) to various planning agencies.
As per the circular, the BMC has been asked to start following the directives at the earliest. “We have received the directives from the state government and will implement and follow the orders at the earliest”, said chief engineer (development planning) Devendra Desai.
“The new development proposals would require an NOC from the defence agencies, but what about those proposals that have already been given approval without NOCs,” said a senior official. “There is no clear way we can track them.”
The circular was issued after the controversy over how Adarsh Co-operative Housing Society—originally meant to be a six-storey structure—was converted into a 31-storey building through alleged collusion of bureaucrats, politicians and top defence officers came to the fore. The building that has come up in the CRZ-II zone was served a show cause notice for violating environmental norms.
