MUMBAI: Even as the Shiv Sena (UBT) clamours for green spaces and the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) to be saved, its own MLA Sunil Prabhu on Wednesday met forest minister Ganesh Naik to ask for a temple two kilometres inside SGNP to be declared a tourist spot and a tarred road to be built leading to it. Prabhu was accompanied by the priest of the temple who controls the trust.
“Let them approach the high court or Supreme Court if they want protection. The temple cannot be legalised and neither can a road be constructed in the forest. If this is allowed, many more people will come and will disturb the wildlife here. We will not allow this. I had asked Mangal Prabhat Lodha when he was the tourism minister but there was no progress on my request. Hence, I approached Ganesh Naik and he arranged a meeting. Former deputy mayor, Babubhai Bhawanji of the BJP, is also demanding facilities for the temple, but my demand is older.”
Officials said that they would vehemently oppose the proposed move. “There is a high court order in 1997, mandating all encroachments to be removed from SGNP,” said an officer working in the national park. When contacted, Sunil Prabhu said, “I wanted this area to be developed as a tourist spot.
Environmentalist D Stalin of NGO Vanashakti emphasised that even Ganesh Naik did not have the authority to sanction a road inside SGNP. “There are enough temples on the periphery of the park. This demand is downright illegal and will be contested. I thought Aaditya Thackeray had more sensitivity towards the conservation of SGNP. It is shocking to see that his own party MLA is acting to the contrary. Partial demolition was carried out after the court order.
Over 20 years ago, the hillock adjoining Kanheri housed many babas, and the Bombay high court had ordered their removal.
“These are well-planned attempts to perforate the forest and create a nuisance for wildlife,” he said.
Earlier, the BJP-led government had demanded concessions for the Sadanand Balyogi Ashram on the Tungareshwar side of SGNP even when the Supreme Court had ordered its removal.
