The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) general assembly on Thursday passed without discussion the proposal to acquire a 1,978-square metre plot in Kurla. The plot courted controversy after it emerged that a Shiv Sena corporator, who had recommended the deletion of the plot’s ‘green zone’ reservation in the development plan, owned a house on the same plot. Opposition members created a ruckus after the assembly, demanding the resignation of the corporator and an apology from the Mayor.
The plot in Kurla (West) was reserved in the development plan for the purpose of setting up a playground or recreation ground. Last year, the owner had issued a purchase notice to the BMC asking it to acquire the land within two years. It was estimated that an amount of ₹3.80 crore would be paid to the owner. While the two years have not yet lapsed, Sena corporator Anant Nar demanded that the reservation not be pursued as the land was completely encroached on. He moved an amendment against the original proposal and his amendment was passed by majority of members. Miffed, the Opposition had walked out, claiming Mr. Nar and improvement committee chairman Dilip Lande were working to give away the plot to builders.
‘Murder of democracy’
When it emerged that Mr. Lande lived on a portion of the same plot, the Sena backtracked the next day and wrote to the municipal commissioner to bring the proposal back on the floor of the House in an attempt to do damage control. The commissioner presented the proposal in Thursday’s general assembly, and the proposal was passed by the Sena by majority without allowing the Opposition to speak.
Leader of the Opposition Ravi Raja said, “Today marks the murder of democracy. The Mayor did not allow us to speak. Mr. Lande has a house on the plot in question and the Mayor did not ask for any explanation from him. We allege that the Mayor is in connivance with Mr. Lande. We demand that Mr. Lande should resign and the Mayor should apologise to the people of Mumbai. It was only because we took up the matter that the Sena had to change its stand, otherwise the plot would have been lost.” Samajwadi Party leader Rais Shaikh and NCP leader Rakhi Jadhav supported Mr. Raja’s demands.
The Mayor later spoke to the media and denied the allegations. He said, “The plot originally fell in the green zone, but had been completely encroached upon. The owner sold it to another person, who realised the plot cannot be developed as it falls under the airport funnel zone. This meant that vertical development over eight metres was not possible and hence he could not rehabilitate the encroachers. The plot became unviable for any development.”
The Mayor said that the developer then sent a purchase notice to the BMC, who would have had to rehabilitate the slum dwellers, making it a loss-making proposition. The Mayor said that considering these factors, Mr. Lande felt that the proposal was a waste of public money and so he along with Mr. Nar moved a proposal to remove the reservation. On Mr. Lande moving a proposal in 2017 to change the plot’s reservation from ‘green zone’ to ‘development zone’, the Mayor said that the proposal had been then signed by Mr. Raja and Mr. Shaikh, but they were finding fault with it now.
