A recent fire, which was hushed up, has exposed illegal construction, alleged malpractices and mismanagement in club that houses heritage property
The extension of Islam Gymkhana till the compound of Marine Lines railway station on Monday. Pic/Suresh Karkera
Over 20 members of Islam Gymkhana have accused its management of illegal cutting and trimming of decades-old trees and massive unauthorised construction during the COVID-19 lockdown. They also alleged that the club encroached upon an area touching the compound walls of Marine Lines railway station, which obstructed the efforts to douse a fire on January 9. The BMC had to use 14,000 litres of water to douse the blaze during the hushed-up incident, show official records. Marine Drive police, the BMC and the Collector did not pay heed to their complaint, claimed the members.
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Islam Gymkhana is located on the collector’s land. But without seeking official permission, the management indulged in malpractices and unauthorised constructions that gained pace during the lockdown. The main person involved in these illegal works is the president, Yusuf Abrahani, who is a former MLA from Govandi,” said Mohammed Ashraf A Karim Kapadia, who is a lifetime member of the century-old gymkhana.
Mohammed Ashraf A Karim Kapadia
He alleged, “Whenever we opposed the management’s nefarious decisions, Abrahani used his political clout to neutralise the complaints.
“More than six massive decades-old trees were on the premises of Islam Gymkhana, but they were either cut down or lopped off by the management. This was done with the help of an agent of the BMC who in return got the membership of the gymkhana.”
The alleged illegal structure built for a juice centre at Islam Gymkhana
“This was done so that one member in the management could open a juice centre and the trees were obstacles. Two chopped off trees were more than 50 years old. I have also learnt that the Gymkhana has paid Rs 1.50 lakh per tree to the agent in cash/cheque for handling the BMC, local police as well as the collector’s office,” he said.
Social activist and retired assistant commissioner of police Shamsherkhan Pathan told mid-day the collector’s land was given to run Islam Gymkhana on lease with a strict condition to not do any construction. “You need to take the collector’s permission for any structural changes. And more than 25 per cent of the earnings from the gymkhana must be returned to the government.”
An old tree that has been truncated, inside the club’s campus, on Monday. Pics/Suresh Karkera
New mgmt came 3 years ago
“But after the new management took over around three years ago, it indulged in rampant illegal construction, and has been siphoning off money. We brought these issues into the notice of the authorities, and the BMC was even forced to demolish some structures following the high court order sometime back.”
“Still, the management continued to indulge in illegal constructions,” Pathan said.
He alleged that the management does not even inform the collector regarding the functions, which is mandatory. “Even during the lockdown, when all the gymkhanas were shut, Islam Gymkhana made huge money but the earnings were not shared with the government. I have made a list of programmes that were organised there, calculated the amount that’s about R16 crore. I informed the collector, but nothing has been done yet,” Pathan alleged.
Prez rubbishes allegations
When contacted, Abrahani rubbished the allegations and told mid-day, “The people making allegations have vested interest. They are agitated because we closed the card room where they indulged in gambling activities.”
Kapadia said, “Abrahani closed the card room because he had to make it a conference hall from where he has been running his political office for his personal benefit.”
He said the trees that the ‘disgruntled’ members are talking about were damaged in the cyclone, as the ground was flooded for days.
The activist and the members also alleged that the management recently encroached upon an area touching the compound wall of Marine Lines station of Western Railway. “The Gymkhana has blindly done unauthorised construction on the railway buffer area, which is parallel to the platform. This could be very dangerous. On January 9, there was a fire during an ongoing marriage party on the first floor,” said Kapadia.
“The fire department had to enter railway premises to douse the blaze, which could have also damaged the railway property,” he added. The BMC struggled for hours and spent 14,000 litre water to put out the fire, states the official record available with mid-day.
However, Abrahani said, “We have not encroached the area. Instead, around five decades ago, Islam Gymkhana had given land to Western Railway to open platform no. 1. And the distance between the walls of the railway compound and gymkhana still exists.”
Will take action
Collector Rajeev Nivatkar said, “We have received the complaints. I have constituted one enquiry committee. Once the report comes to me, I will take legal action against the accused.”
mid-day learnt that the BMC sent a letter to the Marine Drive police station on January 4 regarding the complaint of tree cutting.
A Marine Drive police officer said, “We received the letter, but we do not maintain the list of trees. It is the work of the BMC. How will we know if the trees have been cut or branches chopped off?”
He added, “We will send a reply to the BMC, and ask it to approach us if there’s any such complaint. We will register an FIR and start an investigation. How can we investigate without any FIR?”
Ward officer Kishor Yerame said, “I have recently taken charge. I will have to check the documents.”
WR is conducting an enquiry into the alleged encroachment based on a complaint made with its headquarters in Churchgate. WR Divisional Railway Manager G V L Satyakumar said, “I will have to check with the engineering department, as there are a lot of encroachment issues along the railway boundaries on both the sides, between Churchgate and Mumbai Central.”
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