Demolish Adarsh Or Nature Would Demolish Us

It was October 6, 2014 ... a monster had wreaked havoc for seven hours in port city of Visakhapatnam

The monster had uprooted huge trees and breaking whatever that fragile in its way ...

Hudhud, a severe cyclonic storm, was the monster's name ...  

What was the main reason for this ruthless devastation?

Environmentalists said it was due to city's failure to adhere to the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) norms, which are drafted to protect the country's coastline from natural calamities ...

Plush hotels were set up right in the midst of the CRZ, despite strong opposition ...

Consider the case of Adarsh cooperative housing society in Mumbai ... It has flouted all environmental and CRZ norms, which the Bombay High Court took into cognisance while delivering its judgement ...

The court on April 29 ordered Adarsh demolition ...

The judgement has triggered a big debate ... some opposing the demolition and some others, supporting it ...

Some suggesting to hand over Adarsh apartments to the widows of the Kargil war heroes, and few others suggested using it as government offices ...

So, what is my take on it ... you must be keen to know ... I guess ...



I am for demolition of Adarsh ... but why?

This will send a chill down the spine of every corrupt politician, bureaucrat, businessman, contractor, fixer, middle-man ...

This will also make people believe corruption can be crushed ...

And most importantly, which the Bombay High Court took into cognisance, is that Adarsh was built in total defiance of provisions of the Environment Protection Act ...

Also the society did not obtain recommendations of the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority, among other environmental clearances ...

So, if you consider the devastation Hudhud wreaked in Visakhapatnam, cannot be ruled out from happening in Mumbai's coastal zone, where Adarsh, the symbol of corruption stands ...

Aghast I am ... some newspaper editorials have opposed the demolition ...

I wouldn't be merciful, in the event something similar happens at Adarsh as it did in Visakhapatnam, in calling editors mass murderers for opposing demolition ...