BMC wants 114-yr-old Holy Cross to be relocated for bridge widening

Mumbai: The 114-year-old Holy Cross in Mahim, the origin of which dates to the Edwardian Era, has come in the way of a bridge widening project that has been taken up by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

Situated near Mahim Creek, the Holy Cross serves as a place of worship for East Indians, Catholics, and the Koli community Christians living in the neighbourhood said that they have a strong sense of religious sentiment attached to this cross.

The plot on which the cross stands fall under the Vacant Land Tenant (VLT) policy of the BMC under which, the civic body leased out plots to private owners before independence.

The BMC in a public notice, issued on August 1, stated that the residents should arrange relocation of this cross within the next seven days or else, they will demolish it.

Christopher Vessoaker, whose grandfather used to maintain this cross in the 1920s said that this is the third time in the past three years that the BMC officials have issued them a notice.

“This plot was allotted to my grandfather during the early 20th century by the municipal corporation when he used to do fishing,” said Vessoaker.

“We have all the proofs and documents to support our claim since we have been paying all the required taxes. People are living here for centuries now, and the BMC wants to demolish it, while so many people have their sentiments attached with this structure,” he added.

Jayesh Gonsalves, a local and one of the current caretakers of this cross, said that there is a mention of this cross in the city survey maps of 1934 and 1956.

“The oldest Mumbai map has a mention of this cross. So, it is quite evident that this structure is authorised. The first notice was served to us in 2019, to which we were asked to submit our documents. We had submitted all our documents and another notice was served to us in 2020 again, and now, we receive a new notice stating that this structure will be demolished,” said Gonsalves.

Meanwhile, BMC officials refrained from speaking anything on record. However, an official said that the BMC has planned to implement the Kurar pattern of compensation.

The Kurar pattern states that if more than 50% of any structure is being affected for any development works, then the BMC will provide additional area to reconstruct the demolished structure vertically.

“We have asked the residents to submit documents to us. After that, we will take a final call,” an official said.

Godfrey Pimenta, a city-based activist who has written to the municipal commissioner highlighting this issue said that the Kurar model of development will not work here.

“We are not against development works. We are asking the administration to provide us with alternate space so that the cross could be relocated beside the proposed bridge. There have been previous instances where the holy crosses have been relocated for development works, so this issue could also be solved if taken up positively,” said Pimenta.