HC lifts ban on construction of CIDCO bldgs near Taloja jail

In a relief to CIDCO, the Bombay High Court today lifted the ban on construction of its two housing projects in the vicinity of Taloja jail in Navi Mumbai.
A division bench of Justices N H Patil and V L Achliya today permitted City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra (CIDCO) to go ahead with the construction of buildings in its two housing projects.
Another bench of the High Court had on December 12 last year directed the Maharashtra government to stop all construction activity within 500 metres of Taloja jail.
The order was passed in a petition filed by Ramesh Upadhyay, an accused in the Malegaon 2008 blast case, raising concerns about existing and under-construction high rises that pose a security threat to the inmates of Taloja jail.

Pursuant to the order, stop work notices were issued to 13 housing projects coming up in the vicinity. These included two CIDCO projects.
CIDCO's lawyer Ganesh Hegde today sought the court to vacate the ban and said, "Out of two projects, 24 buildings in one project have already been constructed and in the other projects buildings have come up to the 14th floor."

Advocate General Darius Khambata informed the court that the state government is likely to take its final decision within six weeks on the recommendations submitted by a committee appointed in 2008 in the issue.
"The committee had anyways not recommended a blanket ban on construction. Blanket ban is only for construction within 150 meters of the jail premises. Beyond that certain restrictions will be imposed like height and no windows facing the jail and so on. Demolition of any building is out of question," Khambata said.

He said that the government resolution dated December 4, 2013 regarding construction on ban upto 500 meters around any jail in the state would have a prospective effect and will not apply to those buildings already constructed.
The bench, while allowing CIDCO to go ahead with its projects, clarified that the permission was only for those buildings which have already been constructed beyond the restricted height.