Adarsh residents to move court against demolition order

The residents of the controversial Adarsh Society at Colaba here have decided to move in the court of law against the Ministry of Environment and Forests’ demolition order of their high rise building.

The MoEF on Sunday ordered the demolition of the 31-storied Adarsh Society building, a tower of controversy over illegal allotments of apartments meant for Kargil heroes’ families, as the building did not have the necessary green clearance.

Satish Maneshinde, the counsel of the residents, said prima facie the order is malafide and arbitrary and it can be challenged in Bombay High Court.

“What was the MoEF?s hurry in passing the order at lightening speed on a Sunday and publishing it on their website without even informing the Society?” he asked.

He claimed that the building was built with all clearances and now the court would take a decision.

Union Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh passed the order supporting the demolition of the building saying the building is unauthorized, saying that Adarsh simply cannot be condoned.

?The said unauthorized structure (the Adarsh Society building)?..should be removed in entirety and the area restored forthwith,? the final MoEF order, prepared on Jan 13, read.

The Adarsh Society building must be knocked down within three months. It said the Adarsh Society building must be demolished within three months for breaching coastal protection laws.

The 31-storey high-rise was originally planned as a six-storey housing project for war widows. But flats were sold to politicians and military officers, allegedly at prices far below the mar ket rate.

But the residents, who have already occupied the flats, said they were no wrong doers and would fight the case in the court of laws.

“Why should we suffer for no fault of us,” they argued as the Union Environment minister said the demolition order was to set a precedent to stop corruption in land reform.

The MoEF report said that three options were available ? removal of the entire structure since it is unauthorized and has no clearance under the Costal Regulation Zone (CRZ) Notification, 1991, or removal of the part in excess had the clearances been obtained, or recommend government takeover of the building for public use.”

The last two options were rejected as it could ?tantamount to regularizing or condoning? and erroneous structure, the report added.