Indian Express 13.10.2010
General body clears 3 plots for purchase under JVPD scheme
Express News Service Tags : scheme, Juhu Vile Parle Development, JVPD Posted: Wed Oct 13 2010, 04:02 hrs
Mumbai: The BMC’s general body on Tuesday passed purchase notices for only three plots under Juhu Vile Parle Development (JVPD) scheme reserved for public amenities. The civic body’s Improvements Committee had earlier decided to buy five plots out of nine in JVPD scheme at a cost of Rs 450 crore.According to the Ready Reckoner rates, the four plots are worth over Rs 470 crore — plots for a library (2980 sq metre) worth Rs 49 crore, playground (18,700 sq metre) worth Rs 307.81 crore, market (265 sq metre) worth Rs 4.3 crore and a garden (7,565 sq metre) worth Rs 117.2 crore. Currently, the purchase notice for a plot which has a reservation for international library and another for a playground are pending before the general body of the BMC. The reservation for one of these plots will lapse in December and another in January.
“Our ultimate aim is to leave no stone unturned to acquire open space in a transparent manner,” said Manoj Kotak, chairman of Improvements Committee. “Delaying these decisions till the last minute will not help,” he said. “We will ensure that the two purchase notices which are pending will also be acquired soon.” The BMC decided to purchase the plots from JVPD Cooperative Housing Association, a group of 14 housing societies that have held the plots since 1960, after the society served purchase notices to the BMC asking it to pay the estimated market price and buy the four plots.
Earlier this year, the JVPD societies had served purchase notices to the BMC, which means the BMC needs to buy these reserved plots in order to keep them reserved as public spaces. The civic body will have to buy these plots by January 2011 when the reservation of the plots lapses and the owner of the plot is free to decide how to use the land according to the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, section 127.
The buying back of public amenity plots in the JVPD scheme had also raised questions from several quarters as these will benefit only a selected few around the locality, according to some corporators. “Why are we spending so much money for selected public spaces in such posh areas,” asked a corporator. Meanwhile, the general body meeting also passed the purchase notice for a 1000 sq metre open space in Mazgaon reserved for recreation ground. The deadline for the acquisition will lapse on October 13. The purchase notice for the 1,000 square-metre plot is of Rs 2.58 crore. The plot is owned by the state government, but had been leased to the civic body which had further sub-leased it to the developers. Under the civic body’s development plan, however, the plot has been reserved as a recreational ground.
