Juhu locals rally against selling of open space
Sunday morning saw 1,000-odd families in Juhu rally together to save the last open space in their neighbourhood – three playgrounds measuring around 10,000 square metres. For residents, the protest was the continuation of a campaign that first began with the use of the Right to Information (RTI) Act.
The three plots, which have acted as a holding pond in the monsoon ever since the Juhu-Vile Parle Development scheme came into effect, are on grounds adjoining Gangandeep building and Bhanabai Nenshi Women’s hostel on Gulmohar Cross Road number 6. Recently they were taken over – in violation of development and environmental norms – for real estate work, boisterous marriage parties and mega fairs.
Ashoke Pandit, a ground floor resident who stays opposite the ground, says, “Hell has been let loose in our neighbourhood. A few months ago, one of our neighbours died of a massive heart attack due to the continuous loud bursting of crackers. His repeated pleas not to burst crackers went unheard by the organisers.”
Concerned over the growing noise pollution and unchecked construction work in the area, the Gulmohar Area Societies Association (GASA), comprising the 1,000-odd families, had filed as many as 17 RTI queries to garner evidence concerning the plots. GASA had found out that Bhanabai Nenshi Trust, a charitable trust which runs a women’s hostel, had sold one of the playgrounds measuring 2,971 square metres to a builder without the consent of the urban development department and the BMC, for Rs 61 crore.
Earlier this year, following the sale of the plot, residents even noticed truckloads of sand being dumped in the playground. They then approached the local ward office to question its stance on such illegalities. “We filed several complaints with the Juhu police demanding
action, but they did not respond,” said Pandit, secretary of GASA.
Finally, a BMC engineer visited the site on December 12 and filed an FIR under section 52 read with section 43 of the Maharashtra Regional And Town Planning Act, 1966, at the Juhu police station against P D Shah, trustee of the Bhanabai NenshiTrust, for unauthorised filling of debris at the site. The case is now under investigation.
On Sunday morning, the Gulmohar Association took out a rally chanting ‘Save Juhu’ in protest against the sale of the plot. “Last year, during the monsoon, water came up five to six feet inside our compound. This is because the debris dumped in the three playgrounds has raised their height by 10-15 feet above ground level,” said Harshad Mehta, treasurer of Gulmohar Association. The residents plan to shortly file a public interest litigation
on this issue.