BMC ignored coastal body’s request for Worli bldgs’ info

MUMBAI: After reports that the civic body had refused permission to allow construction of the two controversial Worli buildings — Shubhada and Sukhada — it has now come to light that it has been disallowing a probe by the Maharashtra Coastal Management Zone Authority (MCZMA) into the alleged irregularities.

HT has a copy of a letter sent by MCZMA to BMC chief Sitaram Kunte on August 6, 2012, seeking documents related to the societies, where top state politicians own houses and shops, to conduct a probe. Eight months on, the BMC is yet to respond to the request.

The BMC’s reluctance to allow a probe assumes significance in the wake of reports that it had rejected a proposal to construct the societies in 1997 for lack of a no-objection certificate from the Union ministry of environment and forests (MoEF). Also, in 2001, it had opposed the de-reservation of an adjoining plot citing environmental concerns.

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