MP Government ‘shelves’ housing project for MLAs, ministers, officers, to save 29,000 trees
Bhopal: Buckling under pressure from the pro-green activists as well as the politicians cutting across party lines, Madhya Pradesh government on Monday decided to ‘shelve’ the re-densification project envisaging redevelopment of a part of Bhopal under the Smart City Plan in the ‘interest of environment’.
The Rs 3,437 crore-project, conceived in 2015, proposed redevelopment of a 359-acre area in a posh locality in the capital city to build modern facilities including bungalows and flats for ministers, MLAs and officers of the Madhya Pradesh government and commercial complexes.
The pro-green activists including politicians of both ruling BJP and Opposition Congress have been protesting against the project since its inception since it involved felling of around 29,000 trees in the project area.
A section of people in the city, mostly women, revived the protest here in the line of ‘Chipko movement’ on June 12 demanding the state government to shift the project to other areas to protect the green cover in the capital city.
Yielding to the pressure by the green lovers who also included MLAs of both BJP and Congress, the state government on Monday declared to shelve the project.
The notable MLAs who voiced their protests against the project included former chief minister and senior Congress leader Kamal Nath and former minister and veteran BJP leader Gopal Bhargav.
Taking to X, state urban development minister Kailash Vijayvargiya on Monday announced that the re-densification project has been shelved for the protection of environment and the trees in the project site.
It has been directed (to the authorities concerned) to explore alternative sites for the project, the post said.
The people and elected representatives would be taken into confidence when the new project would be designed, Mr Vijayvargiya said.
Under the ‘shelved’ project, it was proposed to demolish 2,267 government bungalows and official quarters and commercial complexes in the project site.
It was proposed to construct 30 bungalows and flats for ministers, flats for all the 230 MLAs and 3,480 quarters for the officers of the state government.
Under the project, the developer was to be given a land parcel of 63 acres in lieu of his cost of redevelopment of the project site, official sources said.
