Thane, Jul 4 (PTI) More than 2.30 lakh square feet land has been encroached by 30 religious trusts and temples on Belapur Hill, a landslide prone area, in Navi Mumbai, the reply provided by CIDCO to a Right to Information plea showed.
This encroachment not only creates environment problems but the huge gatherings at these premises during religious functions can give rise to some untoward incident like stampedes, said NatConnect Foundation founder BN Kumar, who filed the RTI plea.
The largest of these temples is on an area of 43,000 square feet, while there are several structures that are spread over 2,000 square feet, he said, adding that rampant cutting of trees there had loosened the soil.
“Despite complaints by various citizens’ groups since 2015, no action has been taken,” said Kumar.
These groups had held a ‘save Belapur Hill’ rally in April, after which the Maharashtra State Human Right Commission issued a notice to government authorities. Hearing on this matter will be held on July 17.
In its reply to the RTI query, City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) said notices for demolition were given to 30 sites, though a drive to bring down these structures slated between June 10 and 12 could not be carried out due to lack of police protection.
Authorities are aware of these illegal structures but no one is taking efforts to resolve the issue, activists Aditi Lahiri and Himanshu Katkar said. PTI COR BNM
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