Illegal scaffold at Shivaji Park seized

The action was initiated following complaints by the Shivaji Park Advanced Locality Management (ALM)

Mumbai: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Thursday seized an illegal scaffold at Shivaji Park and registered an first information report (FIR) against organisers of a sports event for which it was erected.

Members of the Shivaji Park ALM noticed the unauthorised structure being erected on January 27, without any permission from the BMC or the urban development department. Anshuman Poyrekar/Hindustan Times) (Anshuman Poyrekar/HT Photo)

The action was initiated following complaints by the Shivaji Park Advanced Locality Management (ALM).

“We have begun criminal proceedings against the event manager. The structure has been seized, and cranes have been requisitioned to dismantle it,” said Vinayak Vispute, ward officer, G North Ward.

The scaffold will be removed once the cranes arrive, Vispute said.

Members of the Shivaji Park ALM noticed the unauthorised structure being erected on January 27, without any permission from the BMC or the urban development department.

According to a Maharashtra government resolution (GR) dated January 20, 2016, Shivaji Park is a silent zone, designated primarily for sports and recreational activities. The ground can be used for large scale political, religious, and national events mentioned in the GR for a maximum of 45 days in a year, with prior approval from the urban development department.

Alarmed by the massive size of the scaffold and safety implications, ALM members immediately alerted civic officials.

“After repeated calls to officials received no response, we submitted a written complaint. Only then did the authorities act,” said Prakash Belwade, an ALM representative.

The incident has raised serious questions about how such a massive structure could come up in a prominent public space without prior clearance or oversight, residents of the area said.

“Shivaji Park is a sensitive, high-footfall area. If such structures can be raised unnoticed, it points to a larger failure of monitoring,” Belwade said.

Ashish Chavan, organiser of the sports event, was unavailable for comment.

According to the FIR, cranes were brought in to erect the scaffolding structure. Chavan was orally warned by officials to immediately discontinue the work. Despite the warning, the installation continued, prompting the authorities to issue a formal notice.

Subsequently, the Mumbai civic authorities seized the scaffolding. The FIR records that two scaffolding structures had been erected on both sides of Gate No. 5 and that no permission had been taken for the installation.

The FIR has been registered under Section 223(disobedience to order duly promulgated by a public servant )of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, along with Sections 328 (regulations relating to sky-signs) and 471 of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act, 1888, and Sections 3 and 4 of the Maharashtra Prevention of Defacement of Property Act, 1995.