Latest news with #PublicPremisesAct
Hindustan Times
6 days ago
- Business
- Hindustan Times
Oppn slams MbPA on waterfront lease move, says citizens must benefit instead
MUMBAI: Opposition parties on Tuesday slammed the Mumbai Port Authority's decision to lease 215 acres of its land for up to 30 years, effectively shelving the grand plan to develop the eastern waterfront with world-class amenities such as entertainment and recreational spaces, a state-of-the-art marina, convention centres, water transport facilities, and a global business district. Mumbai, India. Aug 11, 2025: Erstwhile HPLC plot of Mumbai Port Trust (MPT) property opposite BPT Hospital in Wadala. MPT is inviting expressions of interest from eligible parties for leasing prime land parcels for industrial and commercial purposes on a long-term basis of 30 India. Au 11, 2025. (Photo by Raju Shinde/HT Photo) (Raju Shinde) Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray said, 'Why should someone sitting in New Delhi's government offices decide what happens to Mumbai's east coast? In 2013, Uddhav Thackeray ji placed a presentation in front of Mumbaikars, to get our east coast back from the MbPA. A committee was set up by (Nitin) Gadkari ji, which went on endlessly and was then abandoned.' The Sena (UBT) leader added, 'For a decade, the Union government has been harassing Mumbaikars with notices to evict them under the Public Premises Act, many of whom have been here as a family since pre-Independence times. Why should this land belong to the Mumbai Port Authority and not the BMC? Why shouldn't the BMC and our city earn revenue from it?' Thackeray alleged, 'The MbPA wants to evict fisherfolk at Sassoon Dock, is stalling redevelopment of BDD Chawl at Sewri, and now it wants to earn from our city.' The Congress too objected to the move. Maharashtra Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant said, 'There must be an investigation into who will ultimately benefit from leasing the properties. This land belongs to India. Mumbai city was developed because of its ports.'' Clyde Crasto, national spokesperson of the NCP (SP), remarked, 'As shipping minister, Nitin Gadkari had asked MbPA to prepare a comprehensive plan for the holistic redevelopment of the waterfront. This piecemeal approach does not work for the city. There must also be transparency. Mumbai needs open spaces, which were in the original plan.' The eastern waterfront plan received a boost when Nitin Gadkari took over as Union transport and ports minister, after the NDA government assumed power in 2014. A committee was set up under then MbPA chairperson Sanjay Bhatia, to develop 966.3 hectares of idle land along the city's east coast, between Colaba and Wadala. The committee submitted its plan and, in December 2018, the MbPA (then known as Mumbai Port Trust) was appointed as the special planning authority for the project. The plan was, however, put on the backburner when Gadkari lost the ports portfolio in a cabinet reshuffle in 2019. The MbPA, which owns most of the land along this stretch, has instead decided to lease 215 acres along the coast for up to 30 years, exclusively for industrial and commercial purposes. In doing so, it aims to earn a minimum ₹814.04 crore in revenue annually. The port authority published an Expression of Interest (EOI) on Monday, offering 28 properties – 27 plots in Mumbai and one in Thal in Raigad district. The last date for submission is September 11. These properties include a 22-hectare plot at Princess Dock near the domestic cruise terminal; a 1.2-lakh sq m plot that once housed an HPCL facility in Wadala; a 42,955-sq m plot that used to house warehouses of the Food Corporation of India in Wadala; the Sewri Timber Pond, a cargo storage yard measuring 1.04 lakh sq m near the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link; among various other buildings it owns. Urban planners pointed to another major urban renewal plan, which aimed to balance public amenities, affordable housing and commercial development that was not implemented as intended. This was the plan to redevelop vast tracts of defunct mill land in Lower Parel, while safeguarding the interests of the mill workers. The plan, conceptualised in 1996, had recommended dividing the land into three portions – allocating one part for open spaces and amenities, another for mass public housing, and the third for commercial utilisation, which could be sold by mill owners. But when the plan was implemented, the then government decided that the three portions would be carved out of the open space on the mill properties, not the total land housing the mills. The mill owners then sold the space occupied by mills, giving rise to the largely commercial precinct we see today. Planners fear the eastern waterfront plan may meet the same fate. Will the waterfront go the Lower Parel way? Following the MbPA's decision to lease its idle land and structures, urban planners are asking whether the eastern waterfront will go the Lower Parel way. Now a busy commercial district that includes some residential layouts, Lower Parel was once the beating heart of Mumbai's textile trade. When the mills fell silent in the 1980s, vast stretches of prime land in Central Mumbai began to lie idle. Intending to monetise it, the government asked noted architect and urban planner, Charles Correa, to prepare a plan for the holistic development of the mill land, in 1996. Correa recommended dividing the land into three parts – one going to the mill owners for commercial development; the second for mass housing, for the mill workers; and the third for public amenities and infrastructure. The plan was never implemented in its original form. It was instead tweaked in favour of mill owners, who received way more than the land assigned to them. The result is the haphazard development of the precinct in the last 10 to 1 5 years, with largely commercial highrises dotting the skyline. The district lacks supporting infrastructure and the public amenities citizens were once promised. Today, narrow streets and traffic chaos defines Lower Parel, congested railway station areas and inadequate parking lots. Activists and planners fear the area under the MbPA, which was meant to be developed in a planned manner to the benefit of citizens, might meet the same fate.
Time of India
31-07-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Illegal constructions at 28 ASI sites in Bengal: Govt
Kolkata: Despite eviction drives, national monuments in Bengal continue to face rampant encroachment, said Centre in Rajya Sabha on Thursday. Responding to a question in Rajya Sabha, Union minister for culture and tourism Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said that of 52 protected monuments and areas under ASI's Raiganj circle, unauthorised constructions were reported at 28 sites and encroachment at five monuments. "ASI has issued stop notices and written to state or local authorities for taking appropriate action, including filing police complaints," Shekhawat said in response to a question from BJP's Samik Bhattacharya. The list of monuments facing illegal construction includes the Cooch Behar Palace, Adina Mosque in Malda, and Murshidabad's Dutch cemetery, tomb of Siraj-ud-Daulah, Hazarduari and Imambara. A senior official of the National Monument Authority said that a majority of centrally protected monuments in the state are affected. You Can Also Check: Kolkata AQI | Weather in Kolkata | Bank Holidays in Kolkata | Public Holidays in Kolkata Superintending Archaeologists, designated as estate officers under the Public Premises Act, are authorised to issue eviction notices and initiate legal proceedings. "We routinely serve eviction notices and file FIRs with the police. Evictions are carried out, but in most cases, encroachers return within days," the officer said.
Hindustan Times
07-07-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Delhi HC seeks Centre's reply on AAP's plea over rent demand for party office
New Delhi, The Delhi High Court on Monday sought the Centre's response on a plea filed by A against the rent demand for its party office in Vithalbhai Patel House in the capital. Delhi HC seeks Centre's reply on AAP's plea over rent demand for party office Justice Sachin Datta issued notice to the Centre on A's plea filed in a case in which the party challenges the cancellation of the allotment of the suite for its office. The high court asked the authorities to file its reply within two weeks and posted the matter on July 22. After A's counsel urged the court to stay the June 20 reminder notice demanding the rent, the Centre's lawyer said "nothing" would happen till the next hearing. The Centre's counsel said there was no urgency in the matter as it was only a notice and they would be proceeding in line with the Public Premises Act. A has claimed the decision of the Directorate of Estates, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, was ex parte and passed without any showcause notice or a reasonable opportunity to be heard. Its counsel argued the Directorate of Estates allegedly cancelled the allotment of a double suite in Vithalbhai Patel House with effect from September 14, 2024, without any information and belatedly conveyed the same to the petitioner for the first time in a letter dated January 17. The petitioner handed over the possession of the premises on April 30, the counsel added. In a fresh plea, A said the Directorate of Estates on June 20 re-issued the bills in the form of a reminder through which the authorities have re-affirmed the arbitrary eviction of the petitioner from its state party office via the ex-parte cancellation order of September 14, 2024. A said in letters issued on March 6 and May 13, the authority demanded rent of over ₹8 lakh for occupying the premises from the time period beginning the date of alleged cancellation. It, therefore, urged the court to stay the communication. "Directorate of Estates passed an ex parte order cancelling the allotment of the subject accommodation, that is, Double Suite at 514, VP House, New Delhi, to the petitioner, with an ultimatum of handing over its physical possession within a period of thirty days. This ex parte order has not been conveyed to the petitioner to date," A's plea said. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
Hans India
16-06-2025
- Politics
- Hans India
SC permits Samajwadi Party to approach HC over office allotment cancellation in Pilibhit
The Supreme Court on Monday permitted the Samajwadi Party to petition the Allahabad High Court over the cancellation of its office allotment in Uttar Pradesh's Pilibhit. A bench of Justices Sandeep Mehta and Prasanna B. Varale was hearing a special leave petition (SLP) by the Samajwadi Party against a decision of the Allahabad High Court which had dismissed the writ petition filed in individual capacity by then Pilibhit district President of the party and had ordered that no liberty would be given to file a fresh plea on the same cause of action. In its order, the Justice Mehta-headed Bench opined that the impugned order of the Allahabad HC should not prejudice the rights of the Samajwadi Party. The SLP filed before the apex court said that the then district President did not act on behalf of the party, nor did he have any instructions from the party, but had filed the proceedings in his own name. It added that the Samajwadi Party intends to approach the Allahabad HC against "ill-conceived, abrupt and illegal decisions" of the Pilibhit Nagar Palika Parishad, but cannot do so as the impugned decision prevents it from filing a fresh plea on allotment cancellation. Since the party did not have any office in Pilibhit, as per the SLP, it was allotted the premises in question in 2020, and subsequently, a Letter of Possession was also issued by the Pilibhit Nagar Palika Parishad. However, the Executive Officer, in an order passed in 2020, recorded that due procedure was not followed in allotment of the property and several procedures were circumvented, such as a public auction was not done and the rent agreement was not registered. "The officials of Nagar Palika Parishad, Pilibhit as well as the Executive Officer, Nagar Palika Parishad, Pilibhit had neither given an opportunity of hearing to the petitioner nor have they considered the facts or the law relevant in this case, before passing the Order,' contended the SLP, adding that the party had been religiously paying the annual rent and has remitted rent payment till January 2021. It said that since allotment cancellation proceedings were not under the Public Premises Act, the order of the Executive Officer is without jurisdiction because the allotment was done by the board of Pilibhit Nagar Palika Parishad. "That acting under political pressure, the Executive Officer of the Municipal Council, Pilibhit along with his subordinates and associates, had been illegally interfering with the peaceful working of the office of the petitioner and had made innumerable attempts to forcibly shut down the Samajwadi Party office in the district," contended the SP's SLP. Senior advocate Siddarth Dave, assisted by advocates Anuroop Chakravarty and Vishnu Sankar, represented the Samajwadi Party before the apex court. pds/vd
Hans India
15-06-2025
- Politics
- Hans India
Samajwadi Party approaches SC over cancellation of office allotment in Pilibhit
The Samajwadi Party has approached the Supreme Court over cancellation of its office allotment in Uttar Pradesh's Pilibhit. The special leave petition (SLP) filed before the apex court questions the validity of a decision of the Allahabad High Court which had dismissed the writ petition filed in individual capacity by then Pilibhit District President of Samajwadi Party and ordered that no liberty would be given to file a fresh plea on the same cause of action. The SLP said that the then District President did not act on behalf of the party, nor did he have any instructions from the party, but had filed the proceedings in his own name. It added that the Samajwadi Party intends to approach the Allahabad HC against "ill-conceived, abrupt and illegal decisions" of the Pilibhit Nagar Palika Parishad, but cannot do so as the impugned decision prevents it from filing a fresh plea on allotment cancellation. Since the party did not have any office in Pilibhit, as per the SLP, it was allotted the premises in question in 2020 and subsequently, a Letter of Possession was issued by the Pilibhit Nagar Palika Parishad. However, the Executive Officer, in an order passed in 2020, recorded that due procedure was not followed in allotment of the property and several procedures were circumvented, such as a public auction was not done and the rent agreement was not registered. "The officials of Nagar Palika Parishad, Pilibhit as well as the Executive Officer, Nagar Palika Parishad, Pilibhit had neither given an opportunity of hearing to the Petitioner nor have they considered the facts or the law relevant in this case, before passing the Order,' contended the SLP, adding that the party had been religiously paying the annual rent and has remitted rent payment till January 2021. It said that since allotment cancellation proceedings were not under the Public Premises Act, the order of the Executive Officer is without jurisdiction because the allotment was done by the board of Pilibhit Nagar Palika Parishad. "That acting under political pressure, the Executive Officer of the Municipal Council, Pilibhit along with his subordinates and associates, had been illegally interfering with the peaceful working of the office of the petitioner and had made innumerable attempts to forcibly shut down the Samajwadi Party office in the district," the SP's SLP contended.
