Pune Mirror: Pune: Tuesday, August 22, 2017.
RTI reveals
violation of margin norms, among others, in Vijay Shewale’s plot in Sadashiv
Peth
Pune city’s
richest Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) corporator Vijay Shewale has come under
scanner for unauthorised construction.
Shewale
represents Bopodi area. Sudhir Kale, vice-president of Shivajinagar Congress
block committee, has submitted documents pertaining to Shewale’s illegal
construction at Ganeje Chowk in Sadashiv Peth to the Pune Municipal Corporation
(PMC) commissioner. Kale has even demanded to cancel Shewale’s membership from
the civic body.
Kale received
this information through Right To Information (RTI) application. Kale said,
“Shewale has furnished incorrect information to the civic body. Therefore, the
civic chief needs to revoke his membership under section-10 (1D) of the
Maharashtra Municipal Corporation Act. Also, the commissioner will have to take
action against the officer concerned, who has failed to take cognisance of the
illegal construction.”
According to
Kale, Shewale is running a women’s hostel and Pushpaviaja Hotel in the area.
Both the facilities are a part of the same structure. He has also claimed that
the PMC’s various departments including the health, water supply and property
tax departments, had sent notices to Shewale last year regarding the illegal
construction. Recently, the Pune fire brigade department, too, had sent a
notice to Shewale’s women’s hostel as the structure did not have a firefighting
system in place and had violated margin norms.
Confirming
this, Rajesh Guram, inspector of PMC’s building permission department,
informed, “Last year, we had sent notices to Shewale. We had also taken action
by removing the unauthorised part of the structure. He has filed a case against
the corporation in this regard.”
When Mirror
contacted Shewale, he denied all the allegations. “Four years ago, I had given
my property on lease-basis to a person. Now, he is running the hotel and giving
rooms to women as paying guests. However, the property originally belongs to me
and I have not carried out any illegal construction there. The complainant is
only trying to damage my image in the public,” Shewale said.
He continued,
“I have also filed a case against PMC for issuing notices to me. And, we have
got a stay from the PMC court and the final decision is still pending. I have
also recorded the information on my court case in the affidavit filed for the
nomination.”
Shewale has
mentioned his property worth Rs 157.29 crore in his affidavit filed along with
a nomination for civic polls in 2018. He also declared jewellery worth Rs 39.15
crore and investments in various banks. Furthermore, he possesses vehicles of
different brands worth Rs 3 crore.