Pune Cantonment Board directs church’s pastor to regularise prayer hall built without permission in 2006

Pune: The Pune Cantonment Board (PCB) on Monday directed the pastor of Shiloh Church of Christ to regularise its prayer hall in the Dhobi Ghat area, saying the structure was built over two decades ago without obtaining the required permission."The church pastor has been told to initiate the statutory procedure of regularising the construction in the coming weeks," Vidyadhar Pawar, PCB chief executive officer, told TOI.After issuing a demolition notice to the church, cantonment officials, accompanied by police personnel, arrived at the site on April 17 with an earth mover to raze the unauthorised structure. The drive was, however, halted after church members staged a protest, following which church representatives were told to present their case on Monday. Subsequently, the representatives submitted a memorandum to the board. "We informed them that notices have been issued since 2006, and based on that, we have now initiated the action," Pawar said.According to PCB officials, the prayer hall stands on land classified as B-1 (property of central govt) under survey number 545. An inspection revealed that the structure covered about 10,000sqft. "The church falls within our limits. Hence, we are authorised to initiate action as per the rules. We also received complaints regarding the structure," a PCB official said.Pastor Robin Mahadkar said, "We have submitted a memorandum to PCB and agreed to regularise the property as per the rules. We are also willing to remove any excess construction if required."The PCB officials said this was the first instance of a request to regularise a structure on B-1 land. "The report will be placed before the board and then forwarded to the Principal Directorate, Defence Estates, Southern Command, for legal advice," the official said.For regularisation, the church will need to submit a detailed building plan. The engineering department will then carry out a ground survey to assess the exact area occupied, based of which, the board will levy property tax going forward, the officials said.They said PCB had been issuing notices to the church for several years. In 2014, the church members had challenged one such notice before the Local Military Authority (LMA). "A survey then concluded that the structure was built without permission, directing the church to follow due process," another PCB official said.Some church members questioned the timing of the action, alleging political pressure. "The board should not succumb to such pressure and should allow us to regularise the property," a member said. The cantonment authorities denied these allegations, saying there was no political interference in their decision.
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