Multi-crore SRA project: In January,Air HQ upheld AOC recommendation to stop work

AS reported by The Indian Express on Tuesday,the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) resumed the long halted work on construction of its project,based on a letter by the Air Officer Commanding,2 Wing,dated October 31,2011.

AS reported by The Indian Express on Tuesday,the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) resumed the long halted work on construction of its project,based on a letter by the Air Officer Commanding,2 Wing,dated October 31,2011. And while everyone in the SRA office on Senapati Bapat Road has been pointing towards four lines written by the AOC claiming that the IAF has issued an NOC to the project,what they have been not willing to take note of is another letter by the highest office of the IAF.

A letter dated January 17,2012,by Wing Commander S C Sharma,Joint Director,Works (P&C),Air Headquarters,addressed to Sanjay Kolte,ACEO,SRA (a copy of which is with The Indian Express) has this to say about the SRA project and the AOCs letter: In the instant case (SRA),communication from the Air Officer Commanding,Air Force Station,Pune,to the PMC recommending cessation of the said construction activity is legitimate as per the provisions of aforesaid MoD letter.

While the letter upholds the recommendation by the AOC to stop the work,SRA officials have been reading the portion of the letter which supports their claim to continue with the project construction.

The Air HQ letter is a reply to Koltes letter to the MoD written in December 2011. A copy of the letter was obtained by PCMC corporator Seema Savle from the SRA office under RTI. In a detailed letter written to the Chief Minister of Maharashtra,Principal Secretary,Urban Development,and the leader of the opposition,Savle has said: Kolte has made a passing mention of the letter in his office notes dated April 4,2012. After an important letter such as this from the Air HQ,there is no question of revoking the stop work order.

The letter also has an inward number-418 dated January 24,2012,of the SRA office,which confirms that the letter has been received by SRA.

When contacted,Kolte denied having received any such letter from the Air HQ. We have not received any such letter. I am seeing it for the first time. Even if we assume that we have received the letter,there will not be any change in our stand. We will continue to build the project with the revised plan.

On April 4,the SRA cleared the revised plan of the project this time for five four-storey buildings. The total number of beneficiaries were brought down from 1,437 in the earlier project to 972.

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Sachin Agarwal,director,Raviraj Creative Associates,the builder,said: We have not violated any of the norms. None of the builders in the vicinity of the Air Force station have obtained NOCs. The project has been approved by top IAF officials. Savle,in her letter to the CM,has claimed that the SRA should have sought a fresh environmental impact assessment clearance after revising the plan. However,Kolte said there was no such requirement.

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