In response to the Environment Ministry's order of demolition of the Adarsh Cooperative Housing Society (ACHS) building here, its counsel Satish Maneshinde said the society would challenge the order in the High Court. He termed the order illegal and baseless.
“It is totally illegal. We knew right from the beginning that the Ministry would take such a decision because [Union Minister of State for Environment] Jairam Ramesh had disclosed his mind even before the show-cause notice was given,” Mr. Maneshinde told The Hindu on the phone.
He alleged that Mr. Ramesh was not present at any of the hearings on Adarsh before the MoEF. “So, I don't know on what basis he has passed the order. Such an order will have to be challenged. We will have to look into the details and then take a decision.”
On the other hand, the Medha Patkar-led National Alliance of People's Movement (NAPM), which had first blown the whistle on irregularities in the building, hailed Mr. Ramesh's order. “The NAPM welcomes the decision and hopes that in no case the decision will be re-looked into and, in no way it will be regularised. Further, it is expected that as per section 15 of the Environment Protection Act an FIR will be registered by the MoEF against the guilty persons and officials,” a NAPM press note said.
