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.