Club managed by Vengsarkar gets BMC notice over encroachment

The DPCSC was established in 1923 on a land parcel under the Vacant-Land Tenancy policy, as per which, BMC leased plots for the purpose of creating recreational spaces and providing basic amenities to the people.

In a complaint to Gajanan Bellale, the assistant municipal commissioner of F North ward, DPCSC secretary Pervez Bana has alleged that a new pitch has been built by DUSC just parallel to DPCSC’s existing pitches.

“The two pitches are hardly apart. It is a great risk for fielders… in case of any calamity, which may even be death,” the letter undersigned by Bana said. He went on to request that some rules be formulated so that pitches are located at proper distances.

While the letter was sent to the ward office April 29, Bana said no action was taken by the BMC till November last week. He alleged that the portion of land on which the new pitch has come up does not belong to the DUPC.

“Since the ward office was not taking any action, we tried to deliberate this matter through various sources until it reached the municipal commissioner last month, following which the local ward office was ordered to take immediate action,” Bana said.

The ward office, on November 29, surveyed the DUPC. On December 15, it sent a notice to the club’s management.

Undersigned by Bellale, the letter (accessed by The Indian Express), said that on spot verification, the ward office has found a discrepancy between the number of pitches proposed and those actually on site. It was also seen that an additional pitch has come up, the letter added.

It further told DUPC that if the club has the approval of the municipal corporation regarding the variation of the said pitches, it should submit the letters to the ward office within seven days. “…otherwise action will be taken as per the rules of the municipal corporation.This matter should be considered very urgent,” the notice said. When contacted, Bellale refused to speak on the issue.

Vengsarkar said the allegations are baseless. “The DUSC club was established in 1944… earlier, the size of the ground was bigger than what it is today. During the 1970s, slums started to encroach the vicinity of the DUSC ground and in 1990s, the encroachment was removed, following which a residential tower was constructed under the SRA scheme along with a few other buildings.”

“The DUSC ground became shorter in size since the club lost a portion of the plot,” he added.

Vengsarkar said that following this, a few of the practice pitches were shifted within the club’s area. He claimed that the primary reason why DPCSC is having problems is because it has extended its number of pitches to 20.

“In every ground, there has to be six or seven pitches, but the DPCSC has extended the number of practice pitches to 20. My wickets don’t affect them at all since we are on our own plot,” he said.

On BMC’s notice, Vengsarkar said, “We have received a letter but the authorities have no reason to take action against us.”