Crossings Republik files PIL over fire station
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Crossings Republik files PIL over fire station

Despite demanding a fire station since 2011 and approaching all the relevant authorities on the matter, residents of Crossings Republik have still not managed to make any headway, and have had to finally approach the court.

Crossings Republik files PIL over fire station

Residents of Crossings Republik, a residential township in Ghaziabad, have been running from pillar to post to have a fire station built in the vicinity. But finally, they had to take matters to court and file a PIL with the Allahabad High Court under the aegis of FedAOA, an apex body of AOAs in Ghaziabad.

The residents have been demanding an independent fire station from 2011, when people started to reside in the township. However, the GDA, the fire department and the Crossings Infrastructure Private Limited (CIPL) have been passing the buck over the matter ever since.  

In December 2015, in response to an RTI query filed by the residents with the office of the chief fire officer of Ghaziabad, the fire department had said that the GDA had not allotted any land for construction of a fire station in the area. It added that no construction work could happen unless the land was legally allotted.

In July this year, the fire department provided a similar response to a request from Alok Kumar, who was the president of FedAOA at the time.

The beleaguered residents then approached the GDA, but the authority passed the onus to CIPL.

In September, the GDA issued a letter to CIPL. Strangely, in contradiction to the Fire Department's claims, the chief town planner of the Authority mentioned that some people had already started constructing homes on the plot allotted for the fire station.  

The letter further ordered the builder to start construction of the fire station immediately or face action under the provisions of Uttar Pradesh Urban Planning and Development Act, 1973.

However, there has been no development on the ground so far. Residents allege that the GDA has been unwilling to provide them the location of the plot, despite repeated requests.  

According to Sanjay Jha, a resident, the township has 28 residential complexes, six commercial buildings and five major schools. This makes a fire station a necessity.

The nearest fire station is located at Vaishali, which is 15-20 km away from the township, and generally takes more than 45 minutes to reach. Ajay Kumar Sharma, the fire station officer at the Vaishali fire station, opined, "Given the distance between Crossings Republik and Vaishali, and the time taken to the reach the spot, the township must have its own fire station."

Speaking to City Spidey, Pooja Shrivastava, a resident of Ajnara Gen X, and former vice-president of FedAOA, said the residents had to approach the court as a last measure. "We had already spoken to the concerned authorities, but it led nowhere," she added.