Six slum rehab projects on hold.

DNA; Pune; Tuesday, August 09, 2011.

Pune: The slum rehabilitation authority (SRA) has kept in abeyance the application of Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) asking for the authority's permission and occupation certificate for six schemes in the Pimpri-Chinchwad area.

The SRA's tough posture comes in the wake of the PCMC's alleged failure to comply with the conditions laid down by the former in implementing such schemes.

The authority's stand came to light after Shiv Sena corporator, Seema Savale, sought information from the SRA under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005.
The former CEO of SRA (Pune), Mahesh Zagade, in his noting on March 18, 2011, decided to keep in abeyance the renewal application of PCMC.
Under the six projects, the civic body is supposed to construct 18,000 apartments to make the Pimpri-Chinchwad area slum-free. About 2,200 houses have already been constructed and work on 1,000 others is in progress.

SRA (Pune) had initially given permission to the PCMC for implementing the schemes in August 21, 2008. However, the PCMC had given the renewal proposal for constructing the houses with alterations in the plan in October 2008.

According to Zagade's notings, the SRA committee had sent the terms and conditions to the PCMC in October 27, 2008, while implementing the scheme. Zagade's note states: "The PCMC did not fulfil it and so both the permission and the occupancy certificate should be kept in abeyance."

According to Zagade, as per the provisions, persons residing in the slums before January 1, 1995, are eligible for rehabilitation. But in all the six PCMC SRA schemes, several beneficiaries were included who have started staying after that date.

Moreover, it was also mandatory for the civic body to take the consent of over 70% slum dwellers for SRA projects. However, in all the projects, the figure of consent comes to just 70%, which the then CEO has remarked as odd.

Zagade also noted that the Vitthalnagar slum rehabilitation project was also proved illegal as the civic authority had constructed the houses in 'Green Zone area' and did not secure environmental clearance for the project.

Savale told DNA, "The PCMC had violated the basic norms of slum rehabilitation project."

The civic body had handed over 28-acre 'green zone' area in Vitthalnagar to Kamgar Kalyan Mandal for 99 years lease, and the latter constructed 'Annasaheb Magar Stadium' on this land.

The PCMC had also violated the Works of Defence Act, 1903, in the case of SRA scheme in Sector 22, Nigdi, as it constructed houses in the Red Zone. The constructions for the Nigdi project came up within 2,000 metres of the Dehu Road ammunition depot, which is not allowed under the Act.