534 shrines in city on demolition list

The civic body on Friday released a list of 534 illegal religious structures in Mumbai that are slated for demolition. These include temples, mosques and crosses.

The civic body on Friday released a list of 534 illegal religious structures in Mumbai that are slated for demolition. These include temples, mosques and crosses.

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In its public notification, the BMC's removal of encroachment department has put religious structures into two categories - category A, which comprises 208 legal structures, and category B, which includes 534 structures that have not been regularised because they obstruct development plans or block traffic or create a law-and-order problem, among other reasons.

"We conducted a survey across all 24 wards over the past two years and found 534 religious structures that have not been regularised and are hence slated for demolition," said Shabbir Bargir, assistant municipal commissioner, removal of encroachment for the suburbs.

"We will wait for at least a month to see if any groups pose objections and if they can provide the necessary documents. A committee will scrutinise the documents submitted or objections raised and take a decision."

Parties must submit documents to the Byculla ward office.