Need to protect hills from construction: CM

PUNE: Chief minister Prithviraj Chavan on Friday said the hills of Pune should be protected from any construction activity. His observation came against the backdrop of the Pune Municipal Corporation ( PMC) taking a decision in the general body meeting on Thursday to scrap the Biodiversity Parks (BDP) by allowing 10% construction on these lands. Many hills come under the BDP.

Speaking to reporters, Chavan, when asked to comment on the decision taken by the general body, said 25 years ago the hills had good green cover, but now they look like a concrete jungle because of the constructions. "Many people own land in these areas. A decision would have to be taken on how much compensation could be given to them," he said. Chavan said he would not like to comment on the stance taken by other parties.

He denied there was any friction between the Congress and the NCP over sharing of seats for the Lok Sabha elections. "The announcement about seat sharing will be made at an appropriate time. No one can take a hard stand on the issue," he said.

On the sanctioning of FSI up to 10 for some slum rehabilitation projects in Pune, Chavan said in Mumbai an FSI of only up to 5 is allowed. "FSI granted for the projects in Pune is high. I have not received any files so far about these projects," he said.

Earlier, Chavan presented the Savitri Stree Shakti awards to women's self-help groups of the Manasi Mahila Unnati Kendra managed by MLC Deepti Chavdhary. Chavan said the government would consider the suggestion of self-help groups for getting loans at subsidized interest rates.

The government, he said, would try to start a short training course for women to appraise them about manufacturing and marketing of products. Women belonging to self-help groups should learn computer operating skills and access knowledge about marketing and manufacturing of products through the internet, he added.

On the poor progress of investigations and the failure of the Pune police to nab the killers of anti-superstition activist Narendra Dabholkar, chief minister Prithviraj Chavan, said, "Police had some leads but it did not result in arrests. It appears that the killers are hardcore criminals. I have made enquiries with the police about the status of the investigations," he said.