VIJAY DEO JHA
Ranchi, July 27: A high-rise under-construction building near the official residence of Jharkhand High Court Chief Justice Dr Ravi Ranjan on Kanke road in Ranchi has raised a security concern.
The undersecretary of the state home department Basir Ahmed has shot a letter to Ranchi Municipal Corporation (RMC) in this regard. The RMC is vested with the power to give approval to any building construction in the municipal area.
In the letter addressed to Ranchi Municipal Commissioner, the home department has said that concerns have been raised over the construction of high-rise buildings in the high-security zone like Kanke road especially adjacent to the residence of the Chief Justice, Chief Minister, Speaker of the assembly and others.
Recently, even Chief Justice Dr Ravi Ranjan had made an oral observation regarding construction made near such sensitive locations and wanted to know whether the government has any policy on where to allow and disallow such constructions.
The said G+20 building named Cloud 9 is being constructed by a Kolkata-based company Adonis Projects Private Limited. Ranjeet Kumar Singh, Arun Rai, Goutam Chatterjee and Suman Debsarkar are the directors of this company. The total cost of this housing project is estimated not less than Rs 100 Crore.
The building is situated a stone throwaway distance from the residence of the Chief Justice having a high threat perception. A high-rise building next to the residence of the Chief Justice will put at risk the security and the privacy of the Chief Justice. It is because the residential premise of the Chief Justice can easily be watched from the top of the building. Also, the residence of the Speaker is closely situated.
Notably, the bar and the bench are already rattled and worried over the security of judiciary officials after the episode of Dhanbad district judge Uttam Anand who died in mysterious circumstances in 2021 after he was hit by a speeding auto rickshaw. The CBI is investigating the case. Questions are being raised about whether the state government took note of how such a building can jeopardize the security of a top constitutional functionary. Nobody in the RMC is forthcoming to speak on this matter.
When contacted RMC town planner Srikant Saran, he said that the building construction plan was not approved during his period. “It is an old project. It must have been approved in 2017. I don’t remember…I have to see the file,” he said.
Another senior official of the RMC said there is no such guideline regarding approval and rejection of any building construction plan in the high-security area.
“As I remember the approval was given in 2019. I am aware that the Jharkhand High court has made certain observations about the construction of buildings adjacent to any sensitive installation or premises. But there is no rule in this regard. The government has to decide on parameters. Often, it is very difficult for us to act,” said the official.
Interestingly, this building came up during the regime of the Hemant Soren government. He and his party — the JMM — had raised hue and cry when the construction of the Lokayukta building was taken up near the official residence of JMM chief Shibu Soren at Morabadi. The JMM alleged that the Lokayukta building will compromise the security of their party patriarch.
Very recently, another high-rise building named Waxpol was constructed in front of the official residence of the Chief Minister on Kanke road.
