Adarsh demolition to ruin dreams of real owners

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Mumbai: The Environment Ministry has asked for Mumbai's Kargil shame Adarsh to be demolished within the next three months.

But the demolition will be a rude shock for the legitimate members - like Kargil veteran Retd Lt Rajiv Singh. And there are also risks involved in demolishing a high rise.

Newspaper cuttings were all Retd Lt Rajiv Singh, one of the legitimate members of the tainted Adarsh Building Society, has to show for a retirement home. But now that the Environment Ministry has said it must be demolished, Singh feels he is paying the price for the sins of others.

Click to play videoMumbai: The Environment Ministry has asked for Mumbai's Kargil shame Adarsh to be demolished within the next three months.

But the demolition will be a rude shock for the legitimate members - like Kargil veteran Retd Lt Rajiv Singh. And there are also risks involved in demolishing a high rise.

Newspaper cuttings were all Retd Lt Rajiv Singh, one of the legitimate members of the tainted Adarsh Building Society, has to show for a retirement home. But now that the Environment Ministry has said it must be demolished, Singh feels he is paying the price for the sins of others.

The battle-scarred soldier said, he has tired of the battle for a home. "I can't fight the whole government, they should have thought about the genuine members," said Singh.

Clearly Adarsh Society was a well-deserved home for members like Singh, but the environment minister viewed it only as a tower of shame.

Even as every floor of the high-rise Adarsh Housing Society building is a testament to the multi level corruption in the state, and while demolition! looked like poetic justice, engineers warn it might not be an easy task.

So, the big problem is how to safely demolish this 31-storey building. Even with tall barricades in place, extra care will have to be taken while using explosives and robotic crushers. The process could take 6-8 months and cost Rs 3-5 crore - roughly the price of a flat in the building. Moreover, sources in the MMRDA said they do not have the expertise for large-scale demolitions.

"This is not a day to day thing, the BMC and other authorities will have to outsource this work," said engineering consultant R S Mandrekar.

Meanwhile the Adarsh Housing Society members said they will go to court challenging the demolition.