BMC to pay ₹25L to move Dindoshi Kali temple in way of GMLR project

The temple is located beneath a flyover planned for Phase 3 of GMLR, and a pillar for the construction of the flyover is already in place

MUMBAI: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation will pay out ₹25 lakh as compensation for a Kali temple that is set to be demolished for the Goregaon-Mulund Link Road (GMLR) project. The temple is located beneath a flyover planned for Phase 3 of GMLR, and a pillar for the construction of the flyover is already in place. Right opposite it is the Kali temple which is causing traffic bottlenecks in Dindoshi.

The official said that shifting the temple would automatically clear the bottleneck, as the diversion of traffic was not happening efficiently due to its presence. (Satish Bate/HT PHOTO)

The GMLR project is the most important East-West link and will connect the Western Express Highway (WEH) at Goregaon to the Eastern Express Highway (EEH) at Mulund under Sanjay Gandhi National Park through twin tunnels.

“A proposal to pay a compensation of ₹25 lakh was given to the temple priest, but the budget for the new financial year lapsed,” said a civic official from P North ward. “So a new proposal was sent to the municipal commissioner for clearance. The temple priest will vacate the premises after he receives the money.” The civic official added that the Kali temple was right in the middle of the road but the priest wanted compensation, as his structure, in existence since 2000, was eligible for it. “He will use the amount to construct a temple in another place,” he said.

The official said that shifting the temple would automatically clear the bottleneck, as the diversion of traffic was not happening efficiently due to its presence. “There are four lanes for vehicular traffic from Dindoshi in the GMLR project,” he said. “Already, due to the pillar placed for the construction of the flyover, two lanes for traffic were shut down. But due to the temple, the third lane would also have to be shut down. After it is shifted, traffic will ease up.” The official added that 250 encroachments have already been removed in the last two years.

Deputy municipal commissioner Vishwas Shankarwar told HT, “The proposal for giving monetary compensation is in process but the temple has not been demolished as yet.”