MUMBAI: Yet another proposal seeking to delete the reservation of an open space in Jogeshwar’s Ambivali in the K-West ward was tabled before the civic improvements committee on Friday, triggering strong opposition from members of the opposition parties. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has proposed deleting a 1,840-square-metre portion of a Garden and Park reservation from a plot in Ambivali, K-West ward, where the Lakshminarayan Temple is located, and incorporating the land into the adjoining residential zone.
The trust has also pointed to the growing number of devotees visiting the temple and the need for additional space to accommodate religious and social activities. The MLA has stated that the temple conducts various religious and social activities throughout the year, including religious discourses, food distribution for the poor, festival prayers and other programmes. The civic proposal notes that the property has been recorded in the name of Shrimad Bharat Mandali on the Property Card for several decades. It also cites the social activities undertaken by the trust as a factor in considering its request. The process would involve inviting suggestions and objections from the public and conducting hearings on the representations received.
The proposal, which will require a modification to Mumbai’s Development Plan 2034 under Section 37 of the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966, is based on a request from the temple trust, Shrimad Bharat Mandali, and a recommendation by MLA Ameet Satam. The trust, Shrimad Bharat Mandali, was registered in 1961 under the Societies Registration Act and the Bombay Public Trusts Act, according to the proposal. The proposal now seeks approval to initiate the Section 37(1) process for deleting the 1,840 sq m reservation and incorporating the freed land into the residential zone.
The temple trust has sought deletion of the reservation to facilitate reconstruction of the existing temple, which it claims is in a dilapidated condition, according to the proposal.
If approved, the proposal will subsequently be forwarded to the Urban Development Department of the Maharashtra government for final approval under Section 37(2) of the MRTP Act.
However, opposition parties are shocked at the rate at which deletion of open-space reservations is being demanded to facilitate residential zoning. “Let there be a temple and continue to do good service, but what’s the need to delete a garden reservation and convert it into a residential zone and open up real estate potential on that plot? Vishaka Raut, a veteran corporator from Shiv Sena (UBT), said, “What’s the point of asking for suggestions and objections while drafting the development plan in 2018 if they are just on a deletion spree now?
Ashraf Azmi, Congress group leader in the BMC, told HT. This whole exercise of asking for views from citizens was a farce and these proposals for deletions are mainly coming from politicians in the ruling alliance, which never get rejected,” said Raut. it will be re-tabled at the next meeting and approved by the ruling alliance While the proposal was not taken up by the committee for discussion on Friday.
