|
The politician is the builder's best friend here
DHARMENDRASINH CHAVDA
Surendra Patel, treasurer of the Gujarat BJP unit and chairperson
of the Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority (AUDA) since 1997,
can truly be called the man of the moment. After all, it was during
his tenure that illegal constructions mushroomed in AUDA areas,
so much so that 90 per cent of the high-rise buildings are illegal.
Not
even 10 per cent of the buildings in this zone have fire-safety
features or equipment. Not even a single builder has been prosecuted.
It is not for nothing that Patel is regarded as the best friend
of builders. Until recently, before the BJP was voted out of the
Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC), Patel was also chairperson
of the BJP's steering committee in the civic body. The committee
had no legal status, yet it's said that Patel exercised total authority
over the elected body.
When
rains flooded Ahmedabad in July last year, and Patel was asked about
the haphazard constructions which had blocked the natural flow of
water, he blamed the "people''. Why didn't AUDA demolish the
constructions? Well, said Patel, it's a development authority, not
a demolition authority!
After
the Uphaar fire tragedy in New Delhi, a petition was filed in the
Gujarat High Court in 1997, seeking directions that authorities
ensure compliance with the fire safety norms. Neither AUDA nor AMC
complied. When the court asked them to do so last year, Patel said
it wasn't feasible. When the court ordered an inquiry to fix responsibility
for their failure to comply, Patel owned up responsibility, saying
he had instructed his officers not to do anything.
BJP
general secretary Gordhan Zadafia felt there's no compromise in
giving such an important position to Patel. "If one is honest
and a man of integrity, one can be assigned any responsibility,''
he said.
Apart
from Patel, a clutch of names from Gujarat's movers and shakers
has something or the other to do with the construction industry.
They include VHP general secretary Pravin Togadia's brother Dinesh
Togadia, Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation Chairperson Kamlesh
Patel's brother Bhadresh Patel and former BJP MLA Gopaldas Bhojwani
who, it is said, is no longer active in the party.
Said
a builder, "Most MLAs and councillors in Ahmedabad have direct
or indirect links with builders. Those who aren't directly involved
take money from us for elections.'' AMC's estate management committee
chairperson Harshad Bhatt says almost all illegal buildings in Bapunagar
area have been constructed by builders with BJP connections. Bhatt
is from the Congress, and one doesn't expect him to
talk about his own party. But he admits, "There is a clear
nexus between politicians and builders''.
This
nexus has ensured subversion of building rules and laws to the point
where there are more illegal buildings than legal structures.
The AMC's officers too have shown an unusual keenness to bend backwards
to please. In 1994, the then AMC administrator P.K. Ghosh, who is
now Vice-Chairperson of the Delhi Development Authority, issued
a resolution allowing commercial use of properties in residential
zones. This, even though the Gujarat High Court had stayed a similar
resolution in 1992. When Ghosh was issued a contempt notice and
asked whether he knew that the earlier resolution had been stayed,
he said he did not.
If
the odd officer insists on following the rules, he's shown his place.
In December 1998, former AMC Commissioner B.K. Sinha insisted on
compliance with fire safety norms. A crowd of armed builders and
Sangh Parivar activists barged into the AMC complex and went looking
for Sinha, ostensibly because the AMC had demolished an illegal
structure which, they claimed, was a temple.
Sinha
escaped unhurt. But nobody in the BJP-controlled AMC, including
Patel and the then Mayor Joitaram Patel, condemned the lawlessness.
Instead, some BJP leaders accused Sinha of being anti-Hindu. Yet,
Sinha didn't buckle in. He issued a public notice in newspapers
identifying 40-odd illegal high-rises and asking people not to buy
property in them. He was promptly shunted out.
Other stories in the series
»February
9, 2001: Builders were
crooks, govt was an accomplice
»February
8, 2001: They built on quicksand of greed
|
