Dadar Parsi Colony, Hindu Colony and extended boundaries of existing Five Gardens have approached the Bombay high court, challenging the proposed heritage precinct listing which includes these colonies. The residents argue that their buildings “do not have any heritage value”.
Seeking a fresh survey of the new heritage precincts list, the petition filed by Dadar Matunga Residents’ Association, Babubhai Bhawanji Cheda and others seeks quashing of a circular issued by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation on August 14, 2013.
In this circular, the civic body had compiled a list of proposed heritage structures and precincts. It includes Dadar and Matunga Five Gardens.
The residents’ petition alleges that the entire exercise of recommending additional heritage listing has been made “casually, arbitrarily without proper application of mind and in blatant violation of law”.
Their petition claims that buildings in Hindu Colony, Parsi Colony and extended boundaries of existing Five Gardens “do not have any heritage value nor do fulfil criteria on basis of which they can be listed as heritage precincts”.
The petitioners’ counsels, Ravi Kadam and Sanjay Kadam, argued that there was no heritage value to the buildings. “There are approximately 942 buildings in the Dadar-Matunga area. Of these, nearly 200 have been redeveloped,” he said.
Kadam argued that the civic body is refusing permission for development to other buildings over the issue of their height, saying that the skyline needs to be retained.
According to the petition, on August 12, 2013, the civic body instructed its officers to refer development proposals in proposed heritage lists to the heritage conservation panel.
The petition states that if their areas are declared ‘heritage precincts’, it will deprive them of the right to reconstruct their dilapidated buildings by availing of benefits of housing schemes under Development Control Regulations.
The court has scheduled the hearing of this petition for February 3.
Battling it out in court
The petition filed by Dadar Matunga Residents’ Association, Babubhai Bhawanji Cheda and others seeks quashing of a circular issued by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation on August 14, 2013
In this circular, the civic body had compiled a list of proposed heritage structures and precincts. It includes Dadar and Matunga Five Gardens
The residents’ petition alleges that the entire exercise of recommending additional heritage listing has been made “casually, arbitrarily without proper application of mind and in blatant violation of law”
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