BMC reclaims 7300 square meters of land in Meghwadi after 12 year dispute
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has successfully retrieved three plots of land totaling approximately 7,300 square meters in Meghwadi, within the Parel-Sewri area, concluding a 12-year administrative and legal dispute. The reclamation process was finalized on June 9 when the final tenants vacated the property. As part of the rehabilitation, six of the displaced tenants have been relocated to tenements near Sasmira College in Worli.
The retrieved land parcels, which measure 651.35 square meters, 2,010 square meters, 1,950 square meters, and 2,700 square meters, were originally reserved for recreation grounds and a municipal school under the city's Development Plan. The plots had been occupied by 13 tenants under the BMC's Vacant Land Tenancy (VLT) scheme.
According to F-South Ward Assistant Municipal Commissioner Vrushali Ingule, the tenants had been living on the land since before 1962 and were initially reluctant to vacate. The BMC had been actively seeking possession of the high-footfall area, which sees around 50,000 daily visitors, for over a decade.
To facilitate the transition, the BMC offered the tenants the option of seeking monetary compensation or shifting to alternative housing. Although the civic body initially offered rehabilitation in Mankhurd, the tenants declined to move there. Subsequently, they were offered relocation to Byculla and Worli.
Six tenants accepted the housing options near Sasmira College in Worli. The remaining seven tenants were allotted flats in newly developed buildings at Jamshu Irani Chawl and Aga Khan Chawl in Byculla.
With the tenants successfully relocated, civic workers are currently removing debris and fencing the area. While one of the plots was designated for a municipal school, Ingule noted that because a civic school already operates in the locality, that plot will be merged with the others. This decision will open up the entire 7,300 square meters as a combined recreational space for the public.
The land retrieval operation was executed under the guidance of additional municipal commissioner (city) Dr Ashwini Joshi, deputy municipal commissioner (Circle-II) Prashant Sapkale, and Ingule.
