Western Rly vs state over 20,000 sq m in Bandra: probe ordered

AMID a tussle between the state and Western Railway over 20,000 sq m of prime land in Bandra,the Additional Divisional Commissioner has asked the collector to probe its ownership once again.

AMID a tussle between the state and Western Railway (WR) over 20,000 sq m of prime land in Bandra,the Additional Divisional Commissioner (Konkan Division) has asked the collector (Mumbai suburban) to probe its ownership once again.

In 2008,then Bandra MLA Janardhan Chandurkar had complained that WR was planning to auction the land. Vilasrao Deshmukh,then Chief Minister,had asked the suburban collector to look into it. The collector noted that the land should be recorded in the name of the state and WR had not produced documentary evidence of ownership.

WR approached the Commissioner (Konkan Division). The Additional Divisional Commissioner,ordering a fresh probe,criticised the collectors office. It is seen that the collector handled the case lightly without making efforts to ascertain from his own records the land status… Even if it is assumed that no acquisition documents were produced,the appellant needs one more chance to collect and submit all documents to the collector,in the interest of justice.

Commercial development of the land is expected to fetch more than Rs 2,000 crore that could be used to fund part of the Mumbai Urban Transport Project. Ownership was never questioned till an FSI of 4 was granted,which made the land lucrative, said a railway officer.

According to the Additional Divisional Commissioners order on January 11,the collector will have to visit the site,if necessary,along with the Superintendent of Land Records (state government) and a WR representative.

We will follow the order as directed, said WR chief spokesperson Shyam Sunder Gupta. Suburban district collector Vishwas Patil said he was not aware of the order.

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