Latest news with #MaharashtraRegionalTownPlanningAct
Indian Express
24-04-2025
- Indian Express
BMC slaps notice on hotel adjoining Digambar Jain Temple citing ‘unauthorised construction'
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Tuesday issued notices to the private hotel adjoining the Digambar Jain Temple at Vile Parle, parts of which were demolished last week. The civic body's move came a day after BMC authorities carried out an inspection of the hotel premises. Civic officials said the notices were served under Section 53 (1) of the Maharashtra Regional Town Planning Act (MRTP), 1966, for unauthorised construction. Earlier, a notice under similar sections were issued to the temple trust, before the civic authorities carried out demolition of the building. According to the BMC's Act, the recipients of the notices are given a 30-day timeline for replying to the notice. 'The hotel dates back to 1977 and with time, some changes have been implemented in the structure. We have compared these changes with the approved plan, that is available with the BMC's Development Planning (DP) department, and sent them notices. We have given them a 30-day deadline to reply to us,' an official said. Meanwhile, on Thursday, the state minority commission also accepted submission from the BMC about the actions that they had taken up. 'Following the commission's directions, we have lodged a police complaint against civic officials. We maintain our stand that the temple was damaged in an illegal manner. In 2013, the BMC's internal law department had passed a resolution stating that the structure couldn't be demolished,' Atul Shah, trustee of the temple, told the Indian Express. On the morning of April 16, the BMC's K/East (KE) ward office razed portions of the Digambar Jain temple in Mumbai 's western suburbs, alleging that portions of the structure were illegal. The BMC action came a day after the city civil court rejected the temple trust's plea for extension of interim protection against demolition action. The trustees of the temple, along with the members of the Jain community, alleged that the civic body's move was influenced by the private hotel owner's plan of expanding their premises—an allegation that has been refuted by the hotel owners. When contacted by The Indian Express, the hotel management declined to comment. The incident resulted in massive furore among members of the Jain community, who hit the streets as a sign of protest. Politicians across party lines too came down heavily on the BMC, prompting the civic administration to issue a transfer order for Assistant Municipal Commissioner Navnath Ghadhe, who headed the KE office. Civic and court records accessed and evaluated by The Indian Express show that the first notice for demolishing the structure was issued to the temple trust owners in 2005, and in the past two decades, nine attempts were made to demolish the structure. The action taken on April 16 was the first time in 20 years that the BMC was able to initiate a full-fledged demolition drive at the site.
Hindustan Times
22-04-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
State steps in to protect final resting places
MUMBAI: In a city where space is the ultimate luxury, not even the dead are safe. The living are now hoping the departed might give up prime real estate – their burial grounds and crematoria – to accommodate the needs of a rapidly expanding city. Stepping in to protect the final resting place of the deceased is the state urban development department (UDD), which has instructed civic bodies across Maharashtra to refrain from changing the reservation of burial grounds and crematoria. It has also instructed them not to regularise encroachments on these plots. Pointing to the paucity of burial grounds and crematoria, the circular was issued to all municipal commissioners and chief officers of civic bodies in the state last week. Citing the Maharashtra Regional Town Planning Act, 1966, it says only the state cabinet has the right to change the reservation of these plots. The circular says the government is aware of frequent attempts to change or delete these reservations, but this would deprive citizens of an essential facility. On occasion, the circular adds, such attempts have given rise to a law and order situation. Such is the paucity of a final resting place that plots have been marked in Mumbai's Aarey Colony, which is essentially forest land, for burial grounds for Christians and Muslims, and a crematorium for Hindus, for the residents of Goregaon and Marol. In the eastern suburbs, sources in the UDD said, an educational institution is in the process of shifting a trust-owned Hindu crematorium to another plot as they want to expand their educational campus. The educational institution apparently has the trustees' approval while local politicians to stepped in to facilitate negotiations. A decade ago, the reservation of a burial ground at Mandale was deleted for a metro car shed built for Metro line 2B. Decisions like these have upset residents across Mumbai, who point out that the dead must be treated with dignity, and their last rites must be performed with due respect. To be able to do this, the city needs sufficient crematoria and burial grounds, residents point out. Retired additional chief secretary, T C Benjamin, who served in the UDD from 2009 to 2012, said, 'When I was ACS in the UDD, there was issue over a petrol pump in an upmarket area, where the land use was changed and a petrol pump was converted into apartments. Where real estate was expensive, the land use of public utilities such as petrol pumps was being altered. We put a stop to this.' Today, the city is knocking at death's door. 'Burial grounds and crematoria are essential public facilities and there is a tendency to change their reservations in prime locations. This will exacerbate the dearth of burial grounds and crematoria. The state government has made the right move,' said Benjamin.
