Adarsh wants 4 weeks to respond

The Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has given Adarsh Cooperative Housing Society at Colaba a week’s extension to respond to its show cause notice.

The Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has given Adarsh Cooperative Housing Society at Colaba a week’s extension to respond to its show cause notice. The MoEF had asked why the society, which it said was unauthorised, should not be demolished and gave it a fortnight to reply.

HT Image

Adarsh has been accused of violating environmental laws. The office-bearers have also been accused of getting the land on the promise of building houses for war widows and veterans and then allotting the flats to politicians, bureaucrats and military commanders.

A letter sent by Bharat Bhushan, director, MoEF, on Monday to Adarsh’s lawyer Satish Manshinde turned down a request for a four-week extension. On November 12, the MoEF had shot off the show cause notice, pointing out alleged Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) and Environment Protection Act (EPA) violations.

In its reply on November 24, Adarsh asked for an extension and questioned the legality of EPA and CRZ norms.

The MoEF’s reply said: “Your challenge to the very existence of the CRZ notification and your interpretations of… the EPA represent opinion rather than legal facts.”