Hindustan
Times: Pune: Friday, 06 March 2020.
PUNE
Despite state government’s order, instead of chief engineer from irrigation
department, executive engineer has approved the flood lines and sent it to Pune
Municipal Corporation (PMC). The civic body and irrigation department helped
each other to save various plots by applying faulty flood lines in the city,
alleged civic activist Sarang Yadwadkar.
He
was speaking during a press conference in the city on Thursday where he
objected to the flood lines marked in the development plan (DP). He has also
demanded to stop all the ongoing construction along the river beds in the city.
Yadwadkar
said, “Despite state government’s order, instead of chief engineer from
irrigation department, executive engineer has approved the flood lines and sent
it to PMC. This helped the civic body to get more development area along the
riverbanks for construction. If this decision is executed it will create havoc
in city and many areas will face floods in the future.”
“As
per National Green Tribunal (NGT) order, Maharashtra Government published a
notification in 2016 and instructed that only chief engineer of irrigation
department can approve the flood lines. We filed the application under Right To
Information (RTI) Act with the chief engineer’s office and asked for a letter
given by his office to PMC for finalising flood lines. The chief engineer’s
office has confirmed in February 2020 that they have not issued any such letter
to PMC.”
Yadwadkar
said, “As it is proven that state governments norms are not followed while
issuing flood line maps to PMC, the civic body must stop construction work
along the river.”
Yadwadkar
and activist Vivek Velankar have written a letter to the municipal commissioner
Shekhar Gaikwad and demanded to stop all the ongoing construction works along
riverbed.
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