BJP MLA urges BMC to stop construction on Gilbert hill

At present, the public works department is constructing a retaining wall around the hill.

In a bid to halt further damage to Gilbert hill as well as to locals residing around it, local BJP MLA has asked the civic body to immediately issue stop-work notices to two under-construction buildings at the foothill.

MLA Ameet Satam visited the 200-ft tall monolith column of black basalt rock located in Andheri along with urban planner PK Das and heritage conservation architect Arup Sarbadhikary on Tuesday.

“We noticed a lot of fissures in the rock. There are construction sites at the foothill and the builder is eroding the hills. So we told the Building Proposal department officials, who accompanied us, to immediately issue stop-work notices to these buildings,” said Satam. After the visit, experts suggested that an infrared trace needs to be done on the hill to find the depth of the fissures so that right kind of conservation work can begin.

At present, the public works department is constructing a retaining wall around the hill. Once the monsoon is over, we will begin the infrared work in the coming months, said Satam.

Gilbert Hill, a heritage structure, was formed when molten lava was squeezed out of the earth’s clefts during the Mesozoic Era about 66 million years ago. Gilbert Hill was declared a National Park in 1952 by the central government under the Forest Act. In 2007, after years of lobbying by geologists, the hill was declared a Grade II heritage structure by the BMC.

mumbai.newsline@expressindia.com

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