Civic body gets purchase notice for Vile Parle plot

This is the latest addition to the long list of open spaces that the civic body has failed to acquire over the years and which the owners now want back.

This is the latest addition to the long list of open spaces that the civic body has failed to acquire over the years and which the owners now want back.

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The BMC has received one more purchase notice for a plot in Vile Parle that was earmarked for a recreation ground in the city’s development plan. The purchase notice was sent by the plot owner setting a deadline for the civic body to buy the plot.

Advocate AH Chheda, on behalf of Pareen Corporation, had issued the notice of Rs 3.34 crore to the civic body on June 21, 2010, for the 1,054 sq m plot.

The plot is reserved as a recreational ground (RG) and partly for public housing. Now, 19 residential structures have encroached upon the area.

The structures on the RG plot will have to be demolished if they are illegal or if legal, will have to be rehabilitated at a cost of Rs 41.88 lakh. This cost will be deducted from the total cost of the plot. The civic administration will table the proposal before the civic improvements committee on Thursday. The purchase notice deadline is June 20, 2011. To retain reservation, the BMC has to begin the acquisition process before that.

“We will discuss the proposal at the committee meeting and then decide whether to accept the purchase notice. But, as of Wednesday, we are in favour of purchasing it,” said Manoj Kotak, chairman of the improvement committee.

The civic body has to buy plots earmarked for civic amenities from the owners within 10 years of the publication of the Development Plan under Section 127 of the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act. If it fails to do so the land owner sends a notice to the BMC saying either it should buy the plot within a year or let the owner sell it.

The Congress is also in favour of acquiring the RG plot. “Though the plot is encroached upon, it should be acquired. But, the civic body should see that the plot is useful to the common man,” said Vinod Shekhar, a deputy leader of the party in the BMC.