Ruling BJP in NMC dares State Govt on demolition of `unauthorised layouts’

The issue has come to the fore with Municipal Commissioner Chandrasekhar issuing notices to residents of what has been described as `unauthorised layouts’. The ruling BJP then got a resolution passed in the municipal general body, staying the Commissioner’s action and announcing that these layouts be treated as `regularised’.

Finally, the State Government referred the controversial issue to a one-man inquiry committee, headed by senior bureaucrat, Nand Lal. It has been prominently included in the 13-point chargesheet served on the municipal office-bearers.

With the State Government taking a serious note of these developments and appointing an inquiry committee, it was being speculated that the elected municipal body would be superseded. Past and present civic officials, including Phadanvis himself, appeared before the one-man committee, giving credence to reports that a stern action was imminent.

Referring to the threats looming large over the elected civic body, Phadanvis emphatically said that his party would continue to back the residents, who were being harassed for no fault of theirs.

He also quoted Government Resolution, issued on March 3, 1987, authorising the NMC to take steps to regularise unauthorised layouts, then numbering 572.

While the Government Resolution could not be properly implemented in all these years for a variety of reasons, the number of unauthorised layouts had gone up by about five times. Phadanvis also referred to a Mumbai High Court judgement, delivered on October 19, 1984, which directed the State Government to take appropriate measures for extending civic facilities to residents of unauthorised layouts. The directions were issued while deciding a petition, filed on behalf of residents of 36 unauthorised layouts.

From the Government Resolution and a High Court judgement, it was clear that the NMC was well within its right to regularise these layouts and also to extend civic facilities to the residents, he claimed.

The former mayor was of the view that the municipal commissioner should have either abided by the NMC general body’s decision and agreed to withdraw the notices or he should have forwarded the NMC resolution to the State Government, alongwith his dissenting opinion. But he had chosen to challenge the NMC general body and remained firm on issuing notices under the provisions of the Maharashtra Regional Town Planning Act.

The State Government also decided to refer the issue to the Nand Lal Committee and ignored the larger interest of innocent people. Therefore, the BJP had decided to stand solidly behind the residents and oppose the Government’s action, he declared.

In reply to a question, he said the BJP has demanded an extension of the scope of the Nand Lal Committee to include decisions taken by the NMC since 1985. The party would also be submitting a written statement before the Committee, giving a detailed reply to the 13-point chargesheet.