Versova citizens object to de-reservation of school plot at hsg soc’s behest

Gambs Tower CHS will stand to benefit with the de-reservation as the parcel will be joined to its recreational area

MUMBAI: Local residents of Versova, led by a former Congress corporator, Mohsin Haider, have objected to a proposed exclusion of a plot reserved for primary and secondary schools in Four Bungalows, Andheri, by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). The plot – 1070.24 sq mt -- was reserved in the civic body’s DP 1967, and subsequent DPs. The citizens submitted their objections to the civic body recently.

Mumbai, India - August 10, 2025: Moshin haider pose for the photos oiu side the Gambs Tower after BMC is deleting school plot land in Versova in Mumbai, India, on Sunday, August 10, 2025. (Photo by Satish Bate/ Hindustan Times) (Hindustan Times)

Should the land be de-reserved, a housing society close by, which had proposed the land’s deletion from the DP, will stand to benefit as the parcel will be joined to its recreational area.

The housing society, Gambs Tower Co-op Housing Society (CHS), had sent the proposal to delete the reservation of the land for the schools to BMC on April 16, 2024, as it falls in a residential zone at Four Bungalows, under CRZ-II, and is shown as partly reserved for a school in the DP-2034. The housing society had requested the deletion of this reservation, citing layout inconsistencies and impracticality.

In its written request to BMC, a copy of which is with HT, members of the society wrote: “An approved 1982 layout shows that part of the school reservation overlaps with the recreational ground (RG), and this discrepancy needs to be acknowledged and corrected. The remaining reserved area of 548.57 sq.m is landlocked and unsuitable for school construction.”

After hearing from the housing society, BMC initiated a survey of the plot proposed for the school by its education department, following which the DP department issued a notification on May 9, 2025, stating that “the reserved area is too small and oddly shaped to accommodate a functional school”. It concluded that in the area only six classrooms were possible, at an estimated construction cost of ₹71 crore, which it deemed unfeasible.

Following the education department’s no objection, the administrator approved the proposal to delete approximately 648.57 sq.mt (of the 1070.24 sq mt) of the reserved plot, subsequent to which citizen’s suggestions and objections were sought.

Haider questioned the legality and rationale of the proposed de-reservation of the plot intended for an educational institute in multiple DPs – 1967, 1991 to the latest 2034, demonstrating sustained planning intent for public benefit. (See box).

“With a population of over 25,000 people, and proximity to slums such as Shivaji Nagar, Ganesh Nagar, Kali basti, Navjeet Nagar, and an absence of municipal schools in the vicinity, de-reservation will be an injustice,” said Haider.

Sandesh Desai, a local resident and a Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) worker, said, “There is no BMC school for children coming from Versova’s economically weaker sections such as Jeet Nagar and Kamgar Nagar. We are unclear about the reasons behind the cancellation of the reservation for a school.”

Mamta Rao, deputy education officer, however said: “We have given our NOC for the deletion. A school is not required in the vicinity; we realised this after conducting an exercise. Our administrative officer reported that there were sufficient schools nearby.”

Haider disputed the reasoning of only six classrooms possible on the plot asserting that administrative or financial limitations cannot override the authority of a sanctioned DP. He emphasized that the city has a statutory obligation to acquire reserved land, either by paying compensation or issuing Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) and that “yielding to private landowners’ demands would erode the integrity of the city’s planning framework”.