BMC agrees to buy back OPEN SPACES…..Sharad Vyas
51 Notices Served On Corporation To Purchase Land Or Give Up Claim
51 Notices Served On Corporation To Purchase Land Or Give Up Claim
Mumbai: The BMC is being asked to pay up for its own land.Taking advantage of the civic bodys lethargy in acquiring plots reserved as open spaces,a number of parties have claimed ownership of 51 such areas and,in the last six years,have offered to sell them back to the Corporation.
Officials admitted that as many as 51 purchase notices have been served on the municipal body since 2005 for green lands the size of two Oval Maidans by citizens, societies as well as encroachers.Most of the 51 acquisitions have been approved.
The blunder is bound to cost the BMC heavily since more than 80% of these open spaces have been encroached upon and the civic body would need crores to resettle the squatters and develop the plots.
Under Section 127 of the Maharashtra Regional Town Planning Act,the civic body had 10 years from 1994 to acquire plots marked as open spaces in the 1994 Development Plan.In case of its failure,the encroacher or any other person interested in the land could stake a claim.If the corporation had bothered to acquire these open plots before 2005,it would have meant many more green spaces for the city.But even a threat of losing reserved plots to private and other parties has not stopped the BMC from dragging its feet over the acquisition of reserved plots, said Manoj Kotak,chairman of the civic improvements committee.The BMC should come up with a comprehensive policy so that no more open spaces are encroached upon.
The BMC has initiated acquisition proceedings for the 51 plots under the Land Acquisition Act,but is yet to pay compensation to the owners.It is believed the notices were served mostly for encroached plots.The idea is to make the BMC cough up cash for land it can never develop.
The Slum Rehabilitation Authority scheme has been stayed by the Bombay High Court for reserved open plots and encroachment means Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) cannot be applied for acquisition.The owner of encroached plots have no other option but to serve a purchase notice, said an official.
According to the Maharashtra Regional Town Planning Act,the state must acquire a plot within 12 months of a purchase notice being served.In case of its failure,the land is available to the owners.The BMC now expects many more owners to stake claim on open spaces as they will be unable to do so after the new DP comes into effect in 2014.With this trend in mind,the BMC must move fast to acquire the remaining open spaces, said an official.
Despite 80% of the open space plots being encroached upon,the BMC has been on a purchasing spree.A year ago,the BMC bought a plot in Juhuthat was reserved for a dhobi ghat even when it was occupied by squatters.It applied the same rule while buying three green patches in the western suburbs at a cost of Rs 21 crore in August.The plots in Dahisar,spread over a collective area of 8,250 sq mt,had also been taken over by encroachers.