The Adarsh Housing Society on Thursday told the Bombay High Court that it had taken all necessary permissions from Maharashtra government prior to construction of the controversial high-rise and cannot be blamed for "miscommunication" between the state and the Centre. The division bench of Justices Ranjana Desai and R G Ketkar was hearing the petition filed by the society,challenging the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests' order to demolish the building,for alleged violation of coastal regulation zone (CRZ) norms. "The state government had the authorisation power to sanction construction. Merely because there is no written NOC by the Union government,the demolition order was passed. Since 2002,the state government has been giving all sanctions and permissions to the society," Rohatgi said. "In 2003,the Union government sent a letter to the Maharashtra government saying that state had the power to decide. This letter was construed as no objection certificate from the Union. For a miscommunication between the state and centre,private people cannot be blamed," he said. Rohatgi alleged the demolition order was "pre-determined" and was passed at the behest of "someone" who had a personal vendetta with the society and its members. "The order of demolition was passed by the ministry's director Bharat Bhushan on the basis of the report submitted by a panel headed by Environment Impact Assessment division adviser Nalini Bhat. The society was not even given the chance to clear its stand," he said. The bench would hear the Union government's arguments on May 2.
