In a startling revelation, it was informed in the Nagaland Legislative Assembly during the on-going Autumn Session that Nagaland government spends Rs 5 lakh a month for the upkeep of the State Guest House at Navi Mumbai which it cannot take over owing to pending clearance from the Coastal Regulatory Zone (CRZ) of Mumbai in Maharashtra.
Also read: Nagaland House in Mumbai to be operational soon: Patton
This was stated by State Deputy Chief Minister in-charge of home, Y Patton to a starred question from NPF member Y Vikheho Swu , who demanded to know the current status of the state guest house for which construction began in 2010.
Vikheho further asked the reason for failure to obtain CRZ clearance, person taking care of the house and how much the government was spending on managing it. Another NPF member Yitachu also demanded to know who was presently occupying the building.
Intervening in the discussion, leader of the house Neiphiu Rio informed that the State cannot occupy the complex till clearance was obtained from appropriate authorities.
Opposition leader T R Zeliang then joined the disucssion by saying that everything about the project went wrong from the beginning when construction started in 2010 and asked why Rio was blaming him when he himself was Chief Minister during that period?
Zeliang further stated that when he was Chief Minister he and the Governor tried to obtain clearance but could not succeed.
Rio in his reply informed that all corrections were under process and assured that the State will obtain clearance.
Notably, the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA) revealed that while it began appraisal for green clearance from Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ), it noted the violation of CRZ notification 1991 and 2011, eight years after the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) granted the project a commencement certificate.
The Nagaland House, spread over a 3,491.11 square metres, falls in CRZ-2, within 150 metres from the high-tide line of the creek on the seaward side of the existing road.