The Indian Express 23.04.2013
After citizens’ inputs, BMC extends deadline
THE civic administration has received 216 suggestions and objections
regarding its plan to demolish 534 unauthorised religious structures
that are obstructing road-widening and other development work. BMC has
thus decided to extend the deadline by nearly three months.
“The suggestions include objections to removing some illegal
religious structures, including proof that some of them should be
considered legal based on official documents. All the inputs will be
studied before a decision is taken,” said Anand Waghralkar, deputy
municipal commissioner (encroachment).
The municipal commissioner has issued a directive to extend the
deadline so that citizens’ groups get enough time to express views on
the list of unauthorised religious structures. The civic administration
will send a report to the state-level committee.
Following a 2011 state government resolution, BMC published a
list of 742 unauthorised religious structures in December last year. Of
these, 534 that are obstructing road-widening and other development
projects are to be demolished.
BMC has proposed to regularise the remaining 208 illegal
structures. The civic administration had asked citizens to submit
documents to prove if the structures concerned existed before 1964, the
cut-off date for legal shrines.
While there is doubt over the cut-off date with many groups
claiming some structures might not have legal proof, the civic
administration admits that a final policy decision can be taken only at
state government level.
