Residents see red over park, move HC ………Swati Deshpande I TNN
Mumbai: Residents generally go knocking on the courts doors against illegal skyscrapers coming up in their backyards. But now the Bombay high court is faced with a petition filed against the development of a childrens park by a building society, Sky Scraper.
Residents of Sky Scraper (Sind Cooperative Housing Society) and New Breach Candy CHS at Bhulabhai Desai Road near the US consulate say they are directly affected by the development of a childrens park on a 7,088 sq-m off-shore plot of collectors land just behind the consulate. They have asked the HC to prevent the park from coming up. It is being developed by an unregistered Bhulabhai Desai Citizens Forum (BDCF) through Raj Shroff who has top political connections.
The petition alleges that the collector and BMC have wrongly given permissions to BDCF to carry out all kinds of construction on the offshore land contrary to terms and conditions of its lease as well as Coastal Zone Regulation (CRZ) norms and Environment Protection Act.
In October 2006, the city collector had given permissions to develop the plot but had barred construction of a structure, said the petition. It noted that the forum, however, has given an undertaking that the garden developed would be open to all citizens, indicating that the rest of the plot which would house basketball and tennis court as well as the childrens amusement park will be restricted area, complained the residents who have so far had access to the entire plot. The land has been given to the forum on a nominal rent of Re 1, initially for five years but generously extended by the collector for 30 years. The residents say that even the collector and civic authorities do not know who the members of the BDCF are except for Shroff and one S P Vaidya, a signatory as disclosed by an RTI application.
The park project is estimated at Rs 4 crore but the petitioners say it has been shown to be less than Rs 5 crore to avoid environmental clearance. The BDCF, it is learnt, planned the park only to provide a garden and much needed recreation area for children and other residents. During the bhoomipujan ceremony in April this year, the forum had said the sea-facing park, which would have facilities of international standards, was an initiative to ensure that children move away from malls as a place of entertainment.
The petition wants the HC to hold that the proposed construction is illegal and a state largesse based allegedly on political clout. Advocate Pradeep Havnur, who represents the petitioners, said the matter is expected to come up for admission in court this week.
RUNNING INTO TROUBLE: The park was inaugurated in April