NMA: Flyover near Aga Khan Palace adheres to 100-m rule

Pune: The National Monuments Authority (NMA) has said it issued no-objection certificate to a flyover and a grade separator near the Aga Khan Palace as they would come up well beyond the 100-metre periphery of the historical structure, as mandated by law. The authority had in 2018 denied permission for a Metro proposal near the monument citing the breach of the 100-metre rule.According to the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (AMASR) Act, 1958, no construction is permitted within 100 metres of protected monuments.

T Sreelakshmi, competent authority for Maharashtra and regional director of the Archaeological Survey of India, western region, said, “The NOC has been sanctioned for the project [flyover and grade separator] after verifying all the rules. The project was studied properly before issuing the NOC. It is for public utility. I am not aware of what happened in the past with the Metro rail.”The Metro construction was originally planned from Civil Court to Ramwadi via Nagar Road, which was later diverted from Gunjan Chowk inside Kalyaninagar towards Ramwadi after the NMA denied the permission.On Aug 18, the PMC’s estimate committee sanctioned a budget of Rs 97 crore to construct the flyover and the grade separator at the Shastrinagar Chowk, following the NOC from NMA. Sandeep Patil, deputy engineer of the civic body’s project department, said, “The flyover is about 115 metres away from the monument, whereas the grade separator starts at 135 metres from the edge of the Aga Khan Palace.”The NOC issued stated: “The permission is granted for the construction of a grade separator/flyover of length 190 metres falling in the regulated area of the centrally protected monument ‘Aga Khan Palace’ with the maximum height of up to 08.50 metres (inclusive all) at Shastrinagar Chowk, Yerawada. The applicant should follow the local building bylaws while constructing the building.”Before the NMA rejected the Metro proposal near the Aga Khan Palace in 2018, city-based NGO Parisar had fought for a logical solution to the issue. Parisar member Ranjit Gadgil said, “The law says nothing within 100 metres. The chowk happens to be just outside 100 metres. The bigger issue is that none of the monuments have heritage bylaws, which are mandatory under the Ancient Monuments Act. The NMA keeps giving permissions under the ‘exceptional circumstances’ clause, which is frankly not okay.”According to Gadgil, the heritage bylaws, if in place, would give a more comprehensive set of guidelines for what should be allowed and not allowed, among others, for the constructions within the regulated zone, which extends from 100-300 metres from the monument. “Without the bylaws, basically the whole process is arbitrary,” Gadgil said.Kalyaninagar resident Raja Narasimhan, who had moved the Bombay HC in 2019, stated in the plea that the realignment would be costly and negatively impact the overall speed and efficacy of the Metro. Narsimhan, on the new development at Shastrinagar Chowk, said, “If govt wants, they can do anything and everything. The citizens can’t keep a vigil on what is happening around them. It is impractical as they have their own professional and personal lives to manage. When I wrote to Kolkata Metro authority on how they obtained an exception from NMA, they refused to divulge the information, stating national security. Delhi and Ahmedabad Metro authorities all have exceptions. For a city like Pune, Monorail would have been a better option.”Wadgaonsheri MLA Sunil Tingre, who has planned the new flyover and a grade separator in conjunction with the PMC, said, “The project has been designed in a way that it will not violate any rules of the archaeological department. We have ensured the height and the 100-metre periphery factors while designing the project. Accordingly, the plan was submitted for approval. After all, this is going to make commuting easy for the citizens. We are all for development.”