By May all illegal shrines would be demolished: State to Bombay High Court
The GR also suggested that a three-tier committee be set up — state-wise, district level and in corporations, including Mumbai, Thane and Pune — for relevant action.
The state government on Tuesday assured the Bombay High Court that by May it would demolish all the illegal shrines in Mumbai and other regions. There are a total of 1,743 illegal shrines which have come up post September 2009.
Government pleader Abhinandan Vangyani informed the court that as per the government resolution issued in November 2015, the illegal shrines will be demolished within six months. Pursuant to a Supreme Court order, a government resolution (GR) of May 5, 2011 and another one in 2015, had prescribed a "well-defined" scheme for appropriate action against unauthorised religious structures in terms of regularisation, relocation and removal.
The GR also suggested that a three-tier committee be set up — state-wise, district level and in corporations, including Mumbai, Thane and Pune — for relevant action.
The GR also said that illegal and unauthorised shrines erected after September 29, 2009, had to be demolished. These structures had been classified into categories, including old religious shrines, those posing as a roadblock for both traffic and law and order.
The statement was made during the hearing of a public interest litigation filed by an NGO, Society for fast Justice, seeking implementation of the Apex court against illegal shrines. A division bench of justice Abhay Oka and justice CV Bhadang, while directing the government to file a compliance report on the action taken by it in February, said if it is not filed then it would mean non-compliance of orders and appropriate action would follow.