HC asks BMC, Collector to raze Kinara Masjid jointly

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and Collector have been passing the buck over demolition of the illegal Haji Ali Kinara Masjid, built on the approach road to Haji Ali Dargah, till the Bombay High Court stepped in on Friday

Kinara Masjid is located behind the Haji Ali juice centre. Pic/Datta Kumbhar

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and Collector have been passing the buck over demolition of the illegal Haji Ali Kinara Masjid, built on the approach road to Haji Ali Dargah, till the Bombay High Court stepped in on Friday. The court directed them to jointly form a task force and raze the structure.

Under CRZ
Sahyak NGO had filed a PIL in the HC through counsel Ashish Mehta, mentioning that MLA Mangal Prabhat Lodha wrote several letters to the G ward councillor informing about the illegal structure, which comes under the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ), but no action was taken.

Who will act?
However, BMC counsel Anil Sakhare told the bench that the civic body had informed the deputy collector about the structure several times, but is yet to receive a response. On the other hand, the Collector said through counsel Geet Shastri that BMC should carry out the demolition as they had the required infrastructure. Coming up with the unique solution, a bench of Chief Justice Manjula Chellur and Girish Kulkarni said that the BMC and Collector should form a combined task force with officials from each side. Chellur further said, “The task force should carry out the demolition immediately and file a compliance report within three months. The police should provide security for the drive.”

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