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Bandra residents want 100-yr-old plot transferred to BMC

Fearing that the land mafia could grab the 714 sq m plot in Almeida Park, community groups in Bandra have started a campaign to get the land transferred from the state government to the BMC.

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Fearing that the land mafia could grab the 714 sq m plot in Almeida Park, community groups in Bandra have started a campaign to get the land transferred from the state government to the BMC.

The groups feel that once the land’s ownership is transferred, the plot can be converted into garden, taking it out of reach of greedy builders.

The plot, which was used as burial ground for children who were not baptised, has a cross built in 1897 during a plague epidemic. Except for occasional prayers, the plot has been lying vacant.

The H (West) Ward Citizen’s Trust, which represents residents of suburbs between Bandra (West) and Santa Cruz (West), has written to the state urban development department and municipal commissioner to retain the plot’s reservation. “We had a meeting to discuss our plans and have asked all NGOs in the area to write to the government so that it remains an open space. Builders are eying it as it is worth more than Rs50 crore,” said Anandini Thakoor of the group.

Corporator from the area Ashish Shelar has already moved a proposal for acquiring the plot of land by the BMC from the state.

The Bombay Catholic Sabha (BCS) has also written to the government asking it to transfer the plot to the BMC. “The city is starved of open spaces and no attempt should be made to de-reserve the plot,” said Anil Joseph of the BCS.

Mobai Gaothan Panchayat, a group representing the largely East Indian residents of Mumbai’s old villages, has written to the state urban development department and the municipal commissioner asking them not to allow any shifting of the cross. “The cross is heritage structure and holds sentimental values for Catholics,” said the group’s Alphi D’Souza.

In June 2009, the general secretary of the Maharashtra Pradesh Youth Congress wrote to the BMC asking for the plot to be de-reserved so that a residential building could come up there. DNA has a copy of the letter. Last week, residents of Almeida Park had filed complaints at Bandra police station.

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