Groups that had petitioned the Bombay high court against the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC)’s demolition of religious shrines on roads and public places have said that their stand has been vindicated by the latest government resolution.
Groups that had petitioned the Bombay high court against the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC)’s demolition of religious shrines on roads and public places have said that their stand has been vindicated by the latest government resolution. Government pleader DA Nalawade on Monday informed the high court that the state on March 14 had come out with a GR staying the demolitions.
Advocate Godfrey Pimenta, who represented Saint John the Baptist Church Save Committee, said, “We have been saying that shrines, especially those belonging to the Christian community, are more than a century old. This order protects all shrines that existed before September 27, 2009. By this order, shrines belonging to all other communities, too, have been saved.”
The Bombay Catholic Sabha, the other petitioner in the case, said that the demolitions and notices had hurt the community. “It is clear that the BMC is at fault. It did not follow Supreme Court directions and went ahead with the demolitions. It was unfortunate,” said Gordon D’Souza, president of the Sabha.
However, citizens’ groups that have been campaigning against encroachments on roads and public places have said that all illegal structures, including religious ones, should be demolished.
Anandini Thakur of the Khar Residents Association said: “If illegal, religious structures should be demolished. There are a lot of these temples coming up on Dr Ambedkar Road in Khar.”
Bhagvanji Raiyani of the Janhit Manch, which had filed a petition in 2003 against religious structures on roads, said that many shrines have nothing to do with religion. “Many of these structures are fronts to encroach on public land. They should be demolished. If people want to build temples and other shrines, they should purchase land and construct them,” he said.
Raiyani’s petition had led to the demolition of several hundred structures. He has filed another petition, which is expected to come up for admission hearing in April. He said that he is also opposed to the relocation of shrines. “Ours is a secular state, and it is not the government’s job to relocate shrines,” he said.
Krishnaraj Rao, who launched the Sahasi Padyatri campaign to reclaim the rights of commuters to walk on footpaths, said: “An unlawful thing has to go. Otherwise, there will be a series of structures cropping up all over. If the structures are of heritage significance, they should be identified as such and not be seen as religious shrines.”
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