HC orders BMC to survey ‘illegal’ mosque in Oshiwara

Mumbai: The Bombay high court on Monday directed the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to survey a playground in Oshiwara and ascertain if a mosque and madrassa had been constructed there illegally. A division bench of chief justice Alok Aradhe and justice Makarand Karnik issued the directions while determining a plea by Kunika Sadanand, convenor of the Andheri Versova Residents’ Association.

According to the petition, the playground, located in K West ward behind Prateeksha Nagar Municipal School, is spread over 10,261 square metres. The land was originally owned by the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) and was transferred to the BMC in 1989. Subsequently, the BMC allotted a small portion of the plot for beautification to a trust.

In 2009, the Markazul Ma’ Arif Education and Research Center, a religious trust, illegally constructed a mosque and madrassa over 3,260 square metres in the playground. Residents made representations to various authorities regarding the illegal construction but got no relief. Meanwhile, a wall adjoining the school was broken to create a for thoroughfare to the mosque, making it difficult to execute monsoon preparedness works. The illegal construction persisted despite a 2016 high court order, the plea stated.

The Markazul Trust was neither a member of the Waqf Board, not had any connections with the entity allotted land in the playground for beautification, said the petition. Encroachment and illegal construction by the trust was blocking the expansion of the school, which had been adopted by the petitioner, it noted.

Responding to the plea, the high court directed the assistant commissioner of K West ward to conduct a survey of the plot and decide on the legality of the structures thereon after hearing all parties within 10 weeks.