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Maharashtra govt to regularise Sahara project

Maharashtra Chief Minister Manohar Joshi has declared that those aspects of the industry giant Sahara's construction work in the Ambi Valley project, which had been completed without the state government's permission, will be regularised so long as it did not violate the law.

Joshi insisted that the terms of reference given to the Varti Committee, set up to probe Sahara's hill station project, were right. The state government had appointed a committee with Ajit Varti, principal secretary in the revenue department, to probe whether Sahara had undertaken construction work without permission.

The state government had formulated a special regulation for the development of hill stations on November 26, 1996, much after Sahara India had begun its Ambi Valley project. The Varti Committee's terms of references authorised it to find out if Sahara's project was in accordance with the special policy and how much of the already completed construction can be regularised.

Joshi said though Sahara's project began before the hill development rules, there was nothing wrong in checking whether the project met the guidelines. He said the construction as per the law will be regularised. Such a move, he said, had precedents, and pointed out that municipal corporations often regularise such construction.

Joshi agreed that the penalty of Rs Rs 5.5 million imposed on Sahara India for developing the Ambi Valley in the Mulshi subdistrict, which was yet to be declared a hill station, was paltry. He also said the question of cancelling the approval of letter of intent to Sahara did not arise at all.

The state government is at present scrutinising Varti Committee report. The chief minister said the extent of Sahara's constructions on forest land is yet to be ascertained.

Joshi denied any Shiv Sena hand in the allegation that the Sahara project was embroiled in a Rs 1 billion corruption case. He said the allegation, raised in the legislative assembly, was incorrect.

Joshi refused to link regularising the Sahara project with the slums. He declared that the two are different and cannot be juxtaposed. He pointed out that the state government's policy provided rehabilitation to those slums built before January 1, 1995.

The chief minister said providing potable water and sewage treatment will have to be handled by the Ambi Valley project.

He also informed that a proposal to develop another hill station near Kamshet in Pune district had been received from the Golden Glades company.

EARLIER REPORT:
Anna Hazare demands probe into Sahara project

Compiled and translated from the Marathi media by Prasanna Zore-->