Mumbai: Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan must pay charges to the civic body for demolishing an illegal ramp that he constructed outside his palatial bungalow, ‘Mannat’, in suburban Bandra and also restore the old road used by local people and pilgrims for years, activists say.
Residents had repeatedly complained against a ramp built by the actor on a narrow road to park his vanity van adjacent to the side-boundary wall of his seafront house, which had hindered people from using the short cut to the famous Mount Mary shrine on top of the hill as well as the school. The ramp was finally demolished by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) a week ago.
The Watchdog Foundation, an NGO that had taken up the complaint since September 2013 to Maharashtra chief minister, the municipal commissioner and the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority against the illegal ramp, is now demanding that the debris, which is still lying around after the demolition should be removed. “The 300-year-old Cement Road should be restored with proper street lighting,” said Godfrey Pimenta of the Foundation. “We want the recovery of the entire cost of demolition for which the BMC had hired JCB excavators, 40 extra labourers, a generator van and so on.” The cost could be around Rs200,000-Rs300,000 (Dh11,810-Dh17,715), he added.
Most importantly, “We are wondering why no prosecution has been launched against Khan/Gauri Khan/Daulatani & Associates (Architect) under the provisions of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act, Maharashtra Regional Town Planning Act and Environment (Protection) Act — Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) violation, by filing of Criminal Complaint in an appropriate court,” he said.
To highlight their demands before the authorities and public, several local organisations in western suburbs held a silent prayer procession this evening from the Cement Road to Mount Mary Church. “We are grateful that the authorities took action, though it was belated,” said Nicholas Almeida of the foundation. A local resident said, “This was the quickest way to go up to the church. But last year, we could not use the road as it was closed by security guards and we had to use the longer route.”
According to Pimenta, “it was an ultimatum issued by them to file a public interest litigation before the court that prompted the BMC to take action on time. BJP MP Poonam Mahajan had also written to Municipal Commissioner Sitaram Kunte on January 29 asking him to demolish the illegal structure.” The activist says that it was a cumulative effort that helped.
