PCB to approach DEO to expedite reconstruction nod

The decision came on Thursday in the General Body meeting of the PCB.

The Indian Express had reported how the majority of building plans were being returned by the DEO and the Local Military Authority (LMA) with comments and observations, tying the hands of the PCB.

About 10 pending plans came up for consideration in the GB along with the objections raised by DEO.

In the meeting, PCB CEO K V Nagi Reddy said, "Hereafter, we (PCB) will only examine fresh reconstruction plans submitted by owners and send them to the DEO for NOC. It is only after the DEO NoC that plans will be considered by the Board for approval."

Nagi Reddy was speaking after some PCB members wanted to know as to why the DEO and the LMA had raised objections to the plans after the PCB forwarded it to them. "The PCB does not sanction the plans initially. It examines them and sends them to the DEO," Nagi Reddy made it clear.

The PCB has 2,204 old grant properties and the owners have been complaining of delay in permission for reconstruction, repairs and mutations, many of them pending for decades.

This paper had reported how, in order to address the challenges faced by bungalow owners in Pune Camp, the Pune chapter of the All India Cantonment Bungalows cum Resident Owners' Association (AICBROA) was floated.

The association has 45 registered members, and all of them are facing similar trouble. "The national president of AICBOA met Directorate General of Defence Estates (DGDE) in New Delhi on December 5 and conveyed the challenges bungalow owners in cantonments across the country have been facing," L R Bhojwani, president, AICBOA- Pune Chapter had then said.

Mutations, repairs, and reconstructions pertaining to bungalows in cantonments are governed by either the Cantonments Act 2006 or the Revised Land Policy of 1995. As per procedure, reconstruction plans are submitted to PCB, which examines them and sends them to the DEO for NOC. The DEO forwards them to LMA, in this case the Pune Sub Area, for comments after which the file returns to the PCB. The comments and observations by DEO have been such that the PCB has not been able to grant permission.

Commenting on the 10 cases that came up for consideration in the GB meeting, Nagi Reddy said, "We will ask the parties (bungalow occupants) to amend and resubmit the plans keeping in mind the objections and ask the DEO to expedite (the process of NOC)." The elected members plan to approach the DEO with the matter.

Earlier, Brigadier Lalit Joshi was sworn in as PCB the President.

PCB to seek funds from Centre for CCTV plan

The PCB will seek special grant-in-aid from the Ministry of Defence (MoD), Government of India (GoI) for installation of 11 CCTV cameras in Pune Camp. The decision came on Thursday in the GB meeting. CCTV installation has been in the pipeline since 2010, and the PCB had first decided to hire a private agency for the installation. The matter was highlighted again in October-November 2011, when Lashkar Police Station surveyed Pune Camp and recommended 10 CCTVs at Fashion Street, M G Road and Shivaji Market. The PCB had then estimated the price at Rs 16 lakh. On Thursday, January 3, when the issue came up for discussion, the price of 11 CCTV cameras, along with installation and monitoring cost has been estimated at Rs 38.70 lakh. The decision to approach the Centre for funds was taken after contemplating and finally negating options such as approaching the city MP for funds under MPLAD or even MLAs.

ALSO READ

Shoddy tracks no deterrent, cycle sales graph soars

City’s most cycle tracks in poor state, synthetic cover coming up on 1.2-km stretch on outskirts

Not bound by EWS quota, these schools still fill it

German Bakery back in business, silently