02 May,2019 05:51 AM IST | Mumbai | mid-day correspondent
A Kandivli plot of land is called a lake in city survey records, a garden plot in the Development Plan (DP) of 1991 and 2034 and used for parking and waste dumping. That is the believe-it-or-not reality in a city that has to fight desperately to save its open spaces.
A report in this paper detailed how the three-year-long struggle of Kandivli residents has finally yielded the desired results. Land encroached and reclaimed for a landfill and parking will now be vacated and restored.
The land which is worth R12 crore was called a lake in government records. This was encroached on and used for garbage dumping and later for parking vehicles.
The report cites how a social activist struggled for three years for information about the land, filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) and finally the court directed the Collector to free the land by June this year.
It was an uphill, onerous battle but it is disappointing that activists and locals have to continue fighting for open space or green spaces. The lake should never have been allowed to disappear in the first place. If it was an open space, it should never have been encroached upon.
If the authorities were true to their jobs, then they should have intervened when this plot was being encroached on in the first place, not turned a blind eye to the takeover, or even facilitated it in any way.
Now that the land has been freed, it should remain an open plot, looked after by those in charge and respected by the locals.
Not everybody has the time, energy and even the courage to fight for land in this way; we have to also ensure that no harm comes to the brave warrior who fought so hard and relentlessly for this patch. Harsh penalties for encroachers because they deprive the city of its lungs and GenNext of what is rightfully theirs.
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