Locals block access road to Kondhwa school claiming it is private property

The management claim that the road had been shown as a proposed DP (development plan) road when they bought the land to set up the school

Former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) Yogesh Tilekar and residents are in the crosshairs after the former decided to block an access road to Sinhgad City School on August 10 citing that the stretch belonged to his family and private landowners.

The 20-foot-wide road was dug up leaving school administration, students and parents shocked. (Rahul Raut/HT PHOTO)

The 20-foot-wide road was dug up leaving school administration, students and parents shocked. The management claim that the road had been shown as a proposed DP (development plan) road when they bought the land to set up the school.

Tilekar said, “It is a private land belonging to farmers who had allowed its usage. Now, they have dug up the land to be used for farming. When the school was sanctioned by PMC, they must have sanctioned an access road. Do they have any proof of the said road which is private property.”

Aniket Kulkarni, a parent, said, “In this case, PMC has to be blamed. The civic body gave permission to set up the school, but did not provide an access road and left the matter pending. Now as the legal issue has cropped up, PMC is telling us that it is private land. We request the CM office to sanction construction of a DP road as per the presidential order and provide justice to parents.”

SD Sawant, director, Sinhgad Technical Education Trust, said, “We have written to the district collector and the municipal commissioner drawing their attention towards the road blockage. When our trust had bought the property, the map showed that a DP road was proposed in the land and accordingly we have been using the road in the past. The blocking of the road will adversely affect students.”

VG Kulkarni, head, PMC road department, said, “The land acquisition of the said stretch has not been completed and it is a private road.”

The Sinhgad City School is located in Tilekarnagar in Kondhwa and has over 4,000 students from KG to Class 12 on its rolls.