Indian Express 26.11.2010
BMC to begin process of acquiring JVPD plots today
Express News Service Tags : Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, JVPD plots Posted: Fri Nov 26 2010, 04:40 hrs
Mumbai: The Shiv Sena-led Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) would begin the process of acquiring the remaining JVPD plots on Friday. Even as the corporators raised an uproar over the issue of ownership of JVPD plots, the Mayor on Thursday decided to begin the process on Friday. However, the BMC will not pay for the plots.“It is an open space which is reserved for public amenities and it is owned by BMC, so why should we pay any money for the same?” said Mayor Shraddha Jadhav. “We will start the process tomorrow and meanwhile our legal department will look into the legalities as we don't intend to pay for this,” she added.
Earlier in the week, Sena corporators had claimed that the ownership of the plots is debatable. Unless it is clear whether the plots belong to MHADA or BMC, the civic body cannot start the process of acquiring it.
“MHADA has now clarified that it is not their property and they had transferred the ownership to JVPD and hence it is not a MHADA layout,” said Ashish Shelar, BJP Corporator. “Our first and foremost aim should now be to acquire the plots before we lose them,” he said.
Only 3 of the 5 JVPD purchase notices, passed in the Improvements Committee recently, have been passed in the BMC’s General Body meeting.
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.
The BMC now needs to buy these reserved plots in order to keep them reserved as public spaces. The civic administration is required to buy these plots before their reservation lapses after which 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.
