Following protests, BMC backs off from acquiring Catholic cemetery land

Mumbai: Following protests from the Catholic community, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has stayed the circular that was issued to take over part of the Catholic cemetery at Kadeshwari Mata Mandir Marg in Bandra West for road expansion

Mumbai: Following protests from the Catholic community, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has stayed the circular that was issued to take over part of the Catholic cemetery at Kadeshwari Mata Mandir Marg in Bandra West for road expansion. The cemetery is attached to St Peter’s Church and close to the Bandra side of the Worli-Bandra sea link.

Mumbai, India - January 05, 2023: BMC serves notice to take possession of part of the premises of St. Peters Church Seaside Cemetery and Bandra Jewish Cemetery lying within the regular line of the public street off Kadeshwari Mata Mandir Road, near Mount Mary Church, Bandra (West), in Mumbai, India, on Thursday, January 05, 2023. (Photo by Satish Bate/ Hindustan Times) (Satish Bate/HT PHOTO)

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) raised the issue following the community’s protests. Bandra West MLA Ashish Shelar, who is also the city BJP chief, approached the BMC seeking reconsideration of the move. Consequently, on Friday, the assistant commissioner of H West ward sent a letter to the representatives of the cemetery and the local church, informing them that the circular issued earlier stood suspended.

The letter also says that though the representatives operating the cemetery were aware of the move, they did not submit objections within the stipulated time. The appeal by the church representatives has now been sent to the competent authority, and till then the notice stands suspended.

Father Mascarenhas, the parish priest of St Peter’s Church, had told HT on Thursday that the move to take over part of a cemetery was something that impinged on the sentiments of the Catholic community. Emphasising that graves and cemeteries had religious and emotional connotations which no one should hurt, he had pointed out that there was a road parallel to Kadeshwari Mata Mandir Marg which the BMC could acquire for its road-widening.

H West ward office had issued a notice to the owners of 12 structures to surrender their land for road-widening, among these a Catholic cemetery and a Bene Israeli Jewish cemetery. A BMC official had said that only 3.93 feet would be taken from two corners of the Bene Israeli Jewish cemetery and only one corner measuring 3.93 feet from the Catholic cemetery, and the graves would not be touched. However, the move had the Catholic community up in arms.

A civic official from H West ward who served the notice had said that Kadeshwari Mandir Marg was extremely narrow, which necessitated the move. “As per the DCPR 2034, every road should be 9.15 metres or more than 9.5 metres,” he had said, adding that the approval to widen the road had been given by the municipal commissioner, and due process had been followed. All affected parties had been given 30 days to respond. However, the land acquisition now stands suspended.