END OF STOREY Chavan now offers Campa residents hope





Fresh Petition Comes Up For Hearing In SC

Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan offered Campa Cola's residents hope as they braced themselves and placed their faith in the Supreme Court, where their fresh plea to protect nearly 100 flats from demolition is up for hearing on Tuesday .

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Monday mulled over whether to ask the SC to start contempt proceedings against the residents, besides directing them to move out.

Chavan, at a cabinet meeting on Monday , directed the chief secretary and law secretary to see if the state could intervene. Deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, minorities minister Naseem Khan, minister of state for housing & slum development Sachin Ahir and others sought the state's "immediate intervention". Khan and Ahir said that even the SC had told the state and BMC to suggest ways to resolve the row, and the state must not miss the opportunity .

Pawar raised the issue after legislative council members, including opposition leader Vinod Tawde and Ashish Shelar, suggested that the state intervene. The BMC had told occupants of the illegal flats to hand over their keys by June 2. Shelar suggested that new attorney general Mukul Rohatgi's help be taken. Rohatgi was the residents' counsel in the SC before his appointment as AG in the new BJP-led NDA government at the Centre.

Political observers said the state's suddenly proactive stand appeared to stem from the rout of the Congress and NCP in the Lok Sabha election, with an eye on the state as sembly election.

Campa's residents spent Monday in meetings and completing paper work with their new lawyer, Himanshu Shekhar. Their main plea was to buy time till the regular bench of the SC can hear their plea on merit again, with facts not presented in court so far. The SC had set a May 31 deadline for the residents to vacate.

The BMC had given them time till June 2 but had not received a single key till 5pm on Monday . It plans to approach the apex court within two days to seek their eviction. It has a report ready on steps it took to demolish the illegal floors and the fight put up by Campa residents to extend the deadline.

"The court has always been sympathetic to the residents. We will tell the court that despite it giving them an extension to vacate twice, they have not done so," a senior civic official said.