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Land issues ahead for new Thane railway station

The station which is to be built on a parcel of land of Thane Mental Hospital has got the ministry's approval this week.

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The new station is expected to boost travel infrastructure in Thane
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With the state health ministry giving a nod, new Thane railway station has inched a step closer to become a reality. The station which is to be built on a parcel of land of Thane Mental Hospital has got the ministry's approval this week. However, city activists say it is not possible to build a railway station on the hospital land as the land comes under Charitable Endowments Act, 1890.

On July 5, state Health Minister Deepak Sawant gave the approval to build new Thane railway station on a parcel of 20 acres of land which belongs to Thane mental hospital. The female ward which is on that parcel will be built elsewhere under the TDR given by TMC.

Activist Rajiv Datta who has been following up this issue for a long time says that a new station on the hospital land is not at all possible. "The land belongs to the state revenue department and the health department is just the custodian of the hospital and not the owner," says Datta. "So the health department giving a green signal does not matter," he says.

The hospital is a 122-year-old institution built on 86 acres of land given by the British to Sheth Narottamdas Madhavdas in 1895. The latter spent Rs 3.50 lakhs to construct the hospital. "And in the past also the Konkan division commissioner, as well as the Bombay High Court, has reiterated that the land cannot be used for any other purpose than what it is meant for," says Datta.

He also says that the hospital is a heritage monument but the TMC (Thane municipal corporation) has not yet given it a heritage status yet. "And one cannot make changes to a heritage structure," he reiterates. And the hospital caters to the patients from Goa to Gujarat border and entire Konkan division.

Moreover, under the Railways Act the distance should be 5km or more between two railway stations. "The distance between Thane and Mulund is 3.5km. So either of the two Thane stations have to be closed to build a new one," he says.

LAND TROUBLE

  • The station is to be built on a land of Thane Mental Hospital which comes under Charitable Endowments Act, 1890
     
  • HC has reiterated that the land cannot be used for any other purpose than what it is meant for 
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