Manzoor Shaikh quit after PCB president Maj Gen Anirudh Chakraborty reportedly reprimanded him for stopping demolition
Manzoor Shaikh quit after PCB president Maj Gen Anirudh Chakraborty reportedly reprimanded him for stopping demolition
Former vice-president of Pune Cantonment Board (PCB) Manzoor Shaikh, who resigned recently, was reportedly reprimanded by the army authorities in the PCB when he stopped a demolition from being carried out by the authority. The demolition was to take place following a Supreme Court (SC) order in 2008 to remove encroachments from a property.
Officials in the PCB revealed that Shaikh was summoned by the then PCB president Major General Anirudh Chakraborty and given a "dressing down". Speaking on condition of anonymity, the officials said Shaikh was asked why he had interfered in an official action being carried out by the PCB.
The army authorities at the PCB could not be reached for comment. The issue concerned a 900 sq ft piece of land behind the Dorabjee Hotel in Camp. The land belongs to a person named Anwar Malik but it had been encroached upon since 1976. Several court cases raged between the encroachers and Malik from 2000, and finally in August 2008 the SC delivered an order in Malik's favour, directing the PCB to demolish the encroachments.
According to Malik, the PCB dilly-dallied all these years in razing the structures and "only served notices but did not demolish". When the PCB finally did arrive with the demolition squad on June 7 this year, Manzoor Shaikh reached the spot to "calm the tense situation" and requested the PCB officials to postpone the action.
On June 7, the PCB, which had the protection of a police party from the Lashkar police station, had finished demolishing some illegal structures on a masjid land on Sachapir Street. According to Malik, Senior Police Inspector P S Sushma Chavan of Lashkar police station then suggested they head to Dorabjee to demolish the illegal structures on Malik's land.
"She was aware of my issue since the PCB had already issued a notice to encroachers on May 25 and there was also correspondence between the police and the PCB. When the squad reached the spot, the situation got tense and even the encroachers got a little hostile. This is when Shaikh arrived and stopped the PCB officers from carrying out the demolition," said Malik.
Several PCB officers, speaking on condition of anonymity, revealed to MiD DAY that Shaikh was later summoned by Chakraborty and given an earful for interfering with an official action which was also an SC directive.
An official said the general was livid and demanded a valid reason for Shaikh's actions. A PCB engineer present at the time of the incident also reportedly got angry with Shaikh, saying, "Why did he have to meddle in my demolition? I am under orders." A senior PCB official also said Chakraborty demanded an explanation from Shaikh. Speaking to MiD DAY, Shaikh admitted he had stopped the demolition and that he had later had a meeting with the general.
"I only requested the officers to give the encroachers some time on humanitarian grounds as it was raining and they would become homeless. I even spoke to Malik later and asked him to consider their plight. There was no other, ulterior motive," he said. About the meeting with the general, he said Chakraborty had only casually asked him about the issue during a routine meeting. "I explained to him the very same reason about giving the encroachers time," Shaikh said.
As of now, the unauthorised structures still stand and Malik has himself decided to give the encroachers time. "The eldest lady in their family is bed-ridden and kicking them out at such a time would be inhuman. I checked on her myself the other day. After she recovers, I will re-approach the board for demolition," Malik said.
The case
The land in question covers 900 sq ft and has been encroached upon since 1976. The matter had been raging in courtrooms since 2000, between the encroachers on one side and the PCB and owner Anwar Malik on the other. The matter went up to the SC, which in 2008 ordered the unauthorised structures to be demolished.
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