Navi Mumbai: 2.3 lakh sq ft land grab by illegal structures on Belapur Hill | Mumbai News – Times of India
NAVI MUMBAI: In a major land grab scam and a series of environmental violations on the landslide-prone Belapur Hill in Navi Mumbai, about 2,30,000 square feet – equivalent to some 600 flats of one-BHK – has been gobbled up by 30 religious structures unauthorisedly, information obtained under the Right To Information (RTI) Act shows.
The largest of the temples on this hill covers 4,000 sq metres or over 43,000 sq feet, followed by 29 other illegal religious structures, as per the information obtained by NatConnect Foundation from the city planner Cidco.
The total area occupied by the temples works out to over 21,411.36 sq mtr which translates into more than 2,30,000 sq and in terms of the city real estate terms could equal to about 600 one-bedroom-hall-kitchen flats.
“Moreover, a number of trees have been indiscriminately cut, loosening the soil and causing risk of landslides, a separate data from Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) shows,” said activist B N Kumar of NatConnect.
It is just not about the temples but the large gatherings that they attract and dangers to their lives, Kumar said and expressed caution against a Hathras type tragedy here on Belapur hill which is prone to landslides.
When TOI contacted Cidco, its spokesperson commented: “This issue (of illegal religious structures on the hill) needs to be examined.”
Though the land grab began in 2014-15, Cidco and NMMC have acted following a couple of complaints by NatConnect to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. The CM asked the Principal Secretary Urban Development Department Aseem Gupta to investigate, and the latter referred it to Cidco and NMMC both of which come under the UDD.
The then Cidco managing director Sanjay Bhatia promised action in 2015 following an alarm raised by the local resident groups such as Kalpataru Cooperative Housing Society (CHS).
“Shockingly no action has obviously been taken,” Kumar lamented and observed that the hill is right across the Cidco headquarters. In fact, the illegal structures can be viewed from the windows of the Cidco department of Controller of Unauthorized Construction (CUC) in Belapur.
Resident groups and environmentalists have held a silent human chain protest under the banner of ‘Save Belapur Hills’ in April following which the Maharashtra State Human Rights Commission (MSHRC) took suo motu cognisance of the issue and served notices on the government and the various authorities, including Cidco. The rights body will take up for hearing the case on July 17.
Cidco counsel has submitted orally to the Commission that the action against the unauthorised structures has all along been hampered by the lack of police protection.
Cidco has recently served notices for demolition on all the 30 places but its planned demolition drive from June 10 to 12 had to be dropped due to non-availability of police, the RTI information shows.
Cidco has earlier asked NMMC to snap water supply to these structures.
NatConnect said neither he nor any of the residents are against the temples. But the religious structures could have been built legally by taking plots from the city planner Cidco under its social services scheme.
Activist Aditi Lahiri said “In May 2012 itself, the then secretary of Kalpataru CHS wrote to the concerned Ward officer regarding levelling of the hills behind Kalpataru.”
Many authorities are aware of the illegal constructions as we have been complaining against the loud music being played at these temples till late in the night, disturbing the children preparing for examinations and patients living in the societies around, said resident Kapil Kulkarni.
Activist Himanshu Katkar wondered as to how NMMC gave water connection and MSEB the power to these unauthorised structures.
Cidco has failed to act in time and it would be impossible for any authority to act if these encroachments were not checked even now, said activist Jyoti Nadkarni.
The largest of the temples on this hill covers 4,000 sq metres or over 43,000 sq feet, followed by 29 other illegal religious structures, as per the information obtained by NatConnect Foundation from the city planner Cidco.
The total area occupied by the temples works out to over 21,411.36 sq mtr which translates into more than 2,30,000 sq and in terms of the city real estate terms could equal to about 600 one-bedroom-hall-kitchen flats.
“Moreover, a number of trees have been indiscriminately cut, loosening the soil and causing risk of landslides, a separate data from Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) shows,” said activist B N Kumar of NatConnect.
It is just not about the temples but the large gatherings that they attract and dangers to their lives, Kumar said and expressed caution against a Hathras type tragedy here on Belapur hill which is prone to landslides.
When TOI contacted Cidco, its spokesperson commented: “This issue (of illegal religious structures on the hill) needs to be examined.”
Though the land grab began in 2014-15, Cidco and NMMC have acted following a couple of complaints by NatConnect to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. The CM asked the Principal Secretary Urban Development Department Aseem Gupta to investigate, and the latter referred it to Cidco and NMMC both of which come under the UDD.
The then Cidco managing director Sanjay Bhatia promised action in 2015 following an alarm raised by the local resident groups such as Kalpataru Cooperative Housing Society (CHS).
“Shockingly no action has obviously been taken,” Kumar lamented and observed that the hill is right across the Cidco headquarters. In fact, the illegal structures can be viewed from the windows of the Cidco department of Controller of Unauthorized Construction (CUC) in Belapur.
Resident groups and environmentalists have held a silent human chain protest under the banner of ‘Save Belapur Hills’ in April following which the Maharashtra State Human Rights Commission (MSHRC) took suo motu cognisance of the issue and served notices on the government and the various authorities, including Cidco. The rights body will take up for hearing the case on July 17.
Cidco counsel has submitted orally to the Commission that the action against the unauthorised structures has all along been hampered by the lack of police protection.
Cidco has recently served notices for demolition on all the 30 places but its planned demolition drive from June 10 to 12 had to be dropped due to non-availability of police, the RTI information shows.
Cidco has earlier asked NMMC to snap water supply to these structures.
NatConnect said neither he nor any of the residents are against the temples. But the religious structures could have been built legally by taking plots from the city planner Cidco under its social services scheme.
Activist Aditi Lahiri said “In May 2012 itself, the then secretary of Kalpataru CHS wrote to the concerned Ward officer regarding levelling of the hills behind Kalpataru.”
Many authorities are aware of the illegal constructions as we have been complaining against the loud music being played at these temples till late in the night, disturbing the children preparing for examinations and patients living in the societies around, said resident Kapil Kulkarni.
Activist Himanshu Katkar wondered as to how NMMC gave water connection and MSEB the power to these unauthorised structures.
Cidco has failed to act in time and it would be impossible for any authority to act if these encroachments were not checked even now, said activist Jyoti Nadkarni.
