Portion of 400-year-old church to make way for road-widening project

The portion of 400-year-old St. Anthony’s Church, popularly known as Malvani Church among the locals is set to make way for a road widening project of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). The church serves more than 15,000 parishioners.

Makarand Dagadkhair, assistant municipal commissioner said that a total of 22 structures are being affected for this project, of which two structures are within the premises of this church. “Structures within the premises of the church that have been given a heritage tag, will not be touched. Only the compound wall will be taken down and the portion of the bungalow, in which, the priest resides will be affected,” Dagadkhair said.

According to Father Angelo Fernandez, the church and the administrative building within its premises have been identified as a Grade-2 heritage structure by the Mumbai Heritage Conservation Committee (MHCC). He said some portions of the church were rebuilt in 1872 and the origin of the church is more than 400 years old.

In order to widen the one kilometre stretch of the existing Marve Road, the P/North (P/N) office of the BMC had issued a notice to the church authorities earlier this year.

Earlier this week, representatives of the church held a meeting with the BMC officials and gave their consent to the project. However, the locals have opposed the project.

According to the officials the existing width of the road is around 40 feet and the BMC intends to widen it to 60 feet.

Dagadkhair said that in return, the BMC will be providing the church financial compensation, based on the present day ready-reckoner rates.

“This issue has been delayed for more than 40 years now. Due to this, various development works are getting delayed. The road needs to be widened at the earliest because there is traffic congestion regularly,” Dagadkhair.

Meanwhile, Father Fernandez said that the church has given up the land in the larger interest of the people. “We have given 20 feet of our premises to the BMC and have also compromised on the rate that we are getting. We have given them a go-ahead in the larger interest of the people,” he said.

He also said that during festivals and mass offerings, the area gets so crowded that devotees often pray from outside the church.

“In future, our parishioners will face sheer inconvenience as the proposed road will pass adjoining the main church building and there will be no space for them to stand outside the church,” said the father. He also claimed that the church is a heritage precinct and that the civic body needs to take special permission from the MHCC before starting work.

A senior official from the BMC heritage department said that special permission will not be necessary as the project involves the compound wall and it doesn’t directly affect the heritage structures present over there.