The Indian Express 09.11.2013
BMC firm on demolition, Campa Cola on the edge as Nov 11 nears
Pressure mounted Friday on the residents of Campa Cola housing society in Worli, with the BMC threatening to cut off water supply, power supply and gas connections for all illegal floors in seven buildings from Tuesday.
The Supreme Court had given the residents until November 10 (Monday) to vacate their flats. The civic administration says it will use force if needed to ensure the order is implemented.
"We will begin the process of discontinuing electricity and water supply from Tuesday. Although we expect that the residents will vacate their flats by Monday, we are ready to use force to ensure that the Supreme Court order for demolition is followed," Additional Municipal Commissioner Mohan Adtani said.
Under Section 488 of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act, the BMC can start the demolition process of the 35 illegal floors in the compound.
"Some BMC officials had checked the meter boxes earlier in the week. They said they will cut off the supplies on Tuesday. But what about the residents staying in the first five floors which they claim are legal? The demolition will create cracks in these floors, there can be mishaps. We don't know what safety measure will be taken," said Divya Malhotra, a resident of the building.
More than 50 officials from at least four wards will be deployed from Tuesday to ensure flats are vacated and electricity and water supply disconnected.
The first phase of demolition, which involves breaking the internal walls of the flats and making them inhabitable, will be done by the BMC within next two months.
Following the Supreme Court order in February, the BMC had issued a 48-hour demolition notice to residents of the 35 unauthorised floors in seven buildings of the housing society.
However, residents moved the apex court seeking regularisation of their unauthorised floors under permissible FSI. Subsequently, on September 12 this year, the SC granted them permission to approach BMC to regularise the floors under permissible FSI. While the residents of the Campa Cola buildings had submitted their plans to regularise 67,000 sq ft of the total 91,000 ft which was within the permissible FSI, the BMC rejected the proposal.
The regularisation could have saved 72 of the 92 flats that are proposed to be demolished due to FSI violations.
Meanwhile, the state government has made it clear it would not come to the rescue of the residents in the absence of any relief granted by the Supreme Court. The residents have been pleading with Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan to issue an ordinance to override the SC's demolition order.
The residents met Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan on Friday evening. Chavan told them the legal opinion given to the state government was that it could not interfere with the SC order. He asked them to seek an independent legal opinion from senior advocates.
"We will examine the matter if they can suggest a legal remedy," said Chavan.
A senior state official said the residents had the option of approaching a larger bench of the SC to seek relief.
The state had earlier sought Advocate General Darius Khambatta's opinion on the matter.
