Demolish Adarsh building in 3 months, says Environment Ministry

New Delhi/Mumbai, Jan 16 (PTI) - In a terse order, the
Indian Environment ministry on Sunday directed the scam-hit
Adarsh Housing Society in Mumbai to demolish within three
months the "unauthorised" 31-storey building in upmarket
Colaba for violating coastal regulations and restore the area
in its original condition.
If the society failed to comply with it on its own,
"the ministry will be constrained to enforce this direction",
the order said.
The society meant to house families of Kargil martyrs
came under the scanner following reports that flats were doled
out to politicians, top defence personnel including two former
Army Chiefs and bureaucrats as well as their kin.
"The unauthorised structure built at Block-6, Backbay
Reclamation Area, near Backbay Bus Depot, Capt.Prakash Pathe
Marg, Colaba, Mumbai-400005, A-Ward should be removed in its
entirety and the area should be restored to its original
condition," the three-page order said.
In Mumbai, the western Indian state Maharashtra
government said it would soon take a decision on the
Environment Ministry's direction.
"We will read the order issued by the Environment
Ministry on the Adarsh society and decide soon on what is to
be done," State Environment Minister Sanjay Devtale told PTI.
Counsel for the Adarsh Society Satish Maneshinde said
the order would be challenged in the High Court once its copy
was available.
He alleged that the contents of the order were
"leaked" to the media earlier this week while the order itself
was issued on a Sunday.
"I think it is totally malafide and we will challenge
it as and when we get the copy of the order," he said.
"Adarsh Cooperative Housing Society has violated the
very spirit of CRZ (Coastal Regulation Zone) Notification,
1991 by not even acknowledging the need for clearance under
this notification...Ignorance of law an never be an excuse for
non-compliance," Indian Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh
said in a statement posted on the Ministry's website.
Accusing the society of "egregious" violation, Ramesh
said the Ministry had three options at its disposal --
"removal" of the entire structure, removal of that part of the
structure in excess of the floor space index (FSI) and
recommending the government to takeover the building for
public use which could be determined later.
"I have decided on Option I (removal of entire
structure). The fact that there may well be other cases of
similar violations provide no grounds for mitigation of the
penalty attracted by such an egregious violation as that by
the Society.
"Any other decision would have diluted the strong
precedents that have been set in judgements of the Supreme
Court and different High Courts," he said.
The Minister said Option II (removal of the part which
is in excess of FSI) was "rejected" since it would have been
tantamount to regularising or condoning an egregious violation
of CRZ Notification, 1991.