No public football ground for Malad residents yet, as BMC has landed itself in a land dispute case after forgetting to change names in the property papers; the civic body bought the land in 2005
The plot in Malad, where a football ground has been planned, is locked in an ownership dispute. Pic/Nimesh Dave
Residents of Malad were expecting their first public football ground to open this month. However, the wait has just got longer. And it's been caused neither by a goof-up, nor a technical error, but just plain stupidity. As the BMC forgot to add its name to the title of the plot it purchased in 2005.
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Last April, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's Garden Cell had hired a contractor to develop a football ground opposite DMart on Linking Road in Malad (West) at a cost of Rs 4 crore. Work started in June 2016 with a deadline of one year. After completing about 35% of the work, it was stopped this March due to a land ownership dispute.
It's currently locked in an ownership dispute with work stopped
Paper trail
A BMC source said, "The land was owned by some private individuals, but the civic body had marked it as 'Play Ground reservation' in the 1991 development plan. Hence, in 2005, as per the procedure, it bought the land from the owner for Rs 8 crore."
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"However, it failed to change the name on the property card and the 7/12 (extract). Even the collector's office failed to follow up with the BMC and the landowner about the change in ownership," the source added. So, technically, on paper, the BMC doesn't even own the land.
A few people claimed ownership of the plot after work had been started, moving the Bombay High Court and managing to get the work stopped.
"The main dispute is pertaining to a small piece of land adjoining the main plot, where the ground is supposed to come up. We are trying to resolve the issue as soon as possible," an official from the Garden Cell said.
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Assistant municipal commissioner of P-north ward (Malad) Dr Sangita Hasnale said, "A court receiver has been appointed for the land. We have sought help from BMC's assistant law officer to resolve the dispute. We had sent a letter to the court receiver, but we did not get any response."
"The issue cropped up when work was started. We are trying it to resolve as soon as possible," she added.
Not the first 'goof-up'
This is not the first case wherein civic officials' carelessness, lack of fact-checking and poor coordination has led to a delay in development of open spaces.
Also read: Land dispute resolved, more locals from Borivli soon
The proposed Shilpgram project in Jogeshwari (East) is yet to be completed, its deadline way past in September 2016. In this project too, civic officials had earmarked 12 acres for the development of Shilpgram; work got stuck after it came to light that two land parcels were owned by other civic departments.
The Shilpgram (arts and crafts village) project worth Rs 40 crore was planned along the lines of Delhi Haat in the capital and Shilparamam in Hyderabad. The idea is to put on display artworks, handicrafts and handlooms from the across the state and other parts of the country.
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