DC Rules,green norms violated

The rules were,however,given a go by at the four completed buildings of the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) project that stand 35 metres tall adjacent to the Air Force Station at Lohegaon. The SRA sanction for the project was received in April 2008,while work began in November 2009. But till December 2010,the authorities had not applied for an NOC either from the Airport Authority of India (AAI),or the Indian Air Force (IAF).

The environmental clearance,too,was not obtained till as late as July 14,2010. Despite the violations,however,the SRA and the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) sanctioned the project,which allowed the private developer earn several crores as it got a plot area of 17,000 square metres,a built-up area of 52,017 sq m and the Transfer of Development Rights (TDR).

The fact that an NOC from the AAI is mandatory was brought to the notice of PMC Commissioner Mahesh Zagade by T C Benjamin,the then principal secretary,Urban Development,on February 23,2011.

In reply to the letter,a copy of which is with The Indian Express,Sanjay Kolte,Additional CEO,SRA had said: “The DC Rules for Pune have no provision for NOC for buildings within 20 km from the boundary of the airport.” Even if the SRA’s argument of DC Rules not being applicable is considered valid,the constructions are bound by the National Building Code,Section 9.5.1,which makes an NOC from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (if not the AAI) mandatory for buildings more than 30 metres high. The SRA project has no such clearance.

The Works of Defence Act was made applicable to the land surrounding the Air Force Station,Lohegaon,in 2007.

Interestingly,in a notification dated April 9,2008,by the then district collector Prabhakar Deshmukh,survey number 203/ 2A — the plot on which the SRA project is coming up — has been omitted from the list of surveys on which WDA is imposed. The SRA project,thus,took no NOC from the Ministry of Defence as the plot never had any restriction on it. The project,with all these violations,was halted on December 3,2010,by the IAF citing no NOC from the MoD. This,as reported by The Indian Express on Monday,has resumed work on the basis of a letter dated October 31,2011,from Air Commodore V R Choudhary,AOC,2 Wing.

When approached,Jayashree Katare,deputy CEO,SRA,directed this reporter to an official who said: “We have restricted the remaining five buildings and the proposal was approved by the CEO of SRA on April 4,2012.”

Sources said the SRA would be completing the project in a revised form — the remaining buildings will be constructed only up to four storeys and MoD NOC will not be awaited. Demolition of the top seven floors of the already constructed buildings is not under consideration.

Sachin Agarwal of Raviraj Creative Associates,the developer,said: “PMC,while approving the project,never asks for NOCs from any of the agencies. Things are not clear. There are so many constructions coming up in the vicinity of the Air Force Station,we fail to understand why are we being targeted.”