Nagpur: Nagpur Bench of Bombay High Court has stayed changing the nature of work of Sonegaon lake started by Nagpur Municipal Corporations. After the decision of two member bench consisting of Justice Bhushan Dharmadhikari and Swapna Joshi the NMC will not be able to undertake any work. The NMC was changing nature of work of Sonegaon Lake which is a fief for it and making effort to get compensation for the two claimants through TDR who are owners of Sonegaon lake. For this NMC had put forth the resolution. In 1974 the Sonegaon Lake land was sold through auction to Dr Rekha Rani Bhiwapurkar and Dr Sudha Sutaria by District Collector Office. RTI worker Harish Naidu had filed a public litigation in the High Court in 2015 for keeping the lake as it is. The order were issued by the court on Wednesday during the hearing for staying it. Hearing is still on.
As the lake’s land was purchased in auction so the fief is of owners and so they are asking for the compensation or some other land in return. The compensation of the land is more than Rs 700 crores. Due to this NMC is trying to make available some other land to the owners through TDR. But the purchaser cannot take up development work on this. The TDR cannot be issued in exchange of the land of lake because this it was changing the nature of work so that the TDR be issued. NMC was making efforts for this work under the 37 MRTP Act. But the petitioner’s advocate has raised objection over the process of the NMC.
According to Adv Awadesh Kesari who has been agruing for the petitioner, the nature of work of the lake cannot be changed. And so their plea was heard in the court and the process was stayed. Kesari said that the lake was landmark of city and so all efforts will be made to save it. He further said that hearing is going on and plea will be made in the court that compensation should not be given.
