Within 300 m or less, asks petition

The dispute over the 70-storey building proposed at the site of a BMC chawl, in Worli, is over whether it falls within 300 metres of INS Trata or not.

The dispute over the 70-storey building proposed at the site of a BMC chawl, in Worli, is over whether it falls within 300 metres of INS Trata or not.

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Subodh Khochare, a resident of the BMC chawl, filed a petition in the high court alleging that the Navy granted an NOC for the redevelopment saying the proposed site was more than 300 metres from the naval base even though the building site is much less distance.

As per a circular issued by the urban development department (UDD) on June 23, 2008, any construction coming up within 300 metres of a naval base would require an NOC from the Navy.

Khochare’s petition alleges, “It seems that the builder along with certain unknown naval officers entered into a conspiracy to find ways to get out of this stringent requirement of obtaining a naval NOC.”

The petition stated that the proposed site of the 70-storey tower was actually just 125 metres from the boundary of Site-2.

That the measurement was taken not from Site-2, but from Site-5 is apparent from the letter from the Public Information Officer (PIO), headquarters, Western Naval Command, dated February 9, 2010, the petition stated.

When contacted, the Navy spokesperson refused to comment, saying they would have to check all records first.