VOLTE-FACE
BMC stays open space adoption policy again ……….Sharad Vyas I TNN
Mumbai: Barely a few days after it lifted the stay on adoption of open spaces, the BMC did a volte-face on Wednesday. Following his meeting with chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh on Tuesday, municipal commissioner Jairaj Phatak directed his senior officials not to clear, renew or allot any open space for adoption, even those less than 5,000 sq-m, until further orders.
Yes, once again there is a stay on the adoption policy. The CM is worried that several people who take plots on adoption basis, slowly apply to get it under the caretaker policy, and misuse it, said civic chief Jairaj Phatak. He was unable to explain why it was abruptly lifted a few days back if it were to be stayed again so soon.
Sources said the recent decision is driven with an eye on the upcoming assembly polls and also to avoid the ruling Shiv Sena-BJP from claiming a chunk of the land since they control the Improvements Committee, custodian of civic property and land.
This is nothing but a political tug-of-war between Shiv Sena-BJP and Congress. The Congress is threatened that Sena knows which plots can be adopted to fetch maximum profit. On the other hand, Congress corporators and politicians have no clue how to draw maximum mileage out of this
policy before the election, said a senior BMC official.
policy before the election, said a senior BMC official.
On October 7, Phatak had lifted the eight-month-old ban that opened the way for NGOs and citizens group to adopt open spaces after paying the deposit of Rs 25,000. Phatak said the CM will soon meet a certain group of people and only after that, a final decision will be taken on the policy.