Maharashtra govt tells CIDCO to act against illegal religious structures on Belapur Hills

Representation pic

The state government has asked CIDCO to take steps against the encroachments by religious structures on the landslide-prone Belapur Hills, while giving the option to green activists of moving against the city planner for its "inaction".

This follows a complaint by NatConnect Foundation against the procrastination on part of CIDCO in taking action against the illegal structures spread across 2.3 lakh square feet in glaring violation of the order by the Maharashtra State Human Rights Commission (MSHRC) over six months ago. The issue gained urgency after an event was organised by a religious trust on the hill on February 23 for which it has invited several politicians, as the publicity material shows.

According to NatConnect Foundation, the religious trust allegedly occupies nearly 13,000 square feet for which CIDCO had served it a notice of demolition in May last year, as per documents submitted to the MSHRC. CIDCO said it had served notices to 29 trusts on Belapur Hill and one on the Parsik Hill and is "willing to take action" in line with a Supreme Court order.

Meanwhile, the Urban Development Department (UDD) order came in response to NatConnect director B N Kumar's query, via the Right To Information (RTI) Act route, on the progress in the matter post the MSHRC order to both CIDCO and Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) to take action against the illegal religious structures in public places.

The State Urban Development Department (UDD) has initially informed Kumar that it reminded both CIDCO and NMMC of the Human Rights Commission's order. But the applicant filed his first appeal with the RTI authority stating the action from both the government agencies is nil. The NGO also pointed out that the monsoon is not far away and the landslides could be disastrous. The first appeal authority Subrao Shinde heard Kumar's explanation and said in a signed order that the applicant can file a formal complaint with the government. At the same time, Shinde, joint secretary in the UDD, asked CIDCO to take action as per issues raised by Kumar and inform the applicant.

The housing societies below the hill have already witnessed landslides damaging the retaining walls and the danger now is much larger as the hill soil has become very loose with the uprooting of tree cover for the encroachments, said Kapil Kulkarni, a local activist. The activists reiterated that they have nothing against any religious structures, but the trusts should be built in safer places, away from the landslide-prone hills. CIDCO itself said it allots plots to social organisations.