Mumbai: With just over a month left for the Bombay High Court’s November 17 deadline to demolish illegal religious structures, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has razed 326 of the 495 structures identified for removal.
Municipal Commissioner Ajoy Mehta, in a recent meeting with additional municipal commissioners, instructed the officials to plan the rest of the demolitions to comfortably meet the HC deadline.
In 2015, the Bombay HC had directed the State government to demolish all illegal religious structures built after September 29, 2009. The directions came following a Public Interest Litigation filed by Forum for Fast Justice, an NGO.
Corporators unhappy
Elected representatives cutting across party lines, however, have requested civic authorities to protect religious structures.
Srinivas Tripathi, a BJP-nominated corporator, said he got no reply to the point of order he had raised regarding the removal of illegal religious shrines. “The BMC is blindly following the HC’s order. The civic body should assess if these illegal religious structures are really obstructing traffic or causing any other trouble,” Mr. Tripathi said.
He said the BMC demolished a Hanuman temple in his ward that was in a corner and did not obstruct traffic movement. “Such action can hurt religious sentiments of people. The BMC should think of this.”
Congress leader Ravi Raja, leader of the Opposition in the BMC, said the civic body shouldn’t demolish illegal religious structures that do not obstruct developmental activities.
Clear instructions
An official from the Removal of Encroachment Department said the court has clearly said that no religion encourages illegal shrines, nor do religious leaders oppose their demolition. The HC has also asked the police commissioners of all cities to provide adequate protection to the civic staff during demolition drives.
