Over 2.30 lakh square feet of land has been encroached upon by 30 religious trusts and temples on Belapur Hill, a landslide-prone area in Thane, Navi Mumbai, a reply provided by CIDCO on a Right to Information petition has revealed.
BN Kumar, founder of NatConnect Foundation, which filed the RTI petition, said that this encroachment not only creates environmental problems, but the huge crowd in these premises during religious ceremonies can lead to untoward incidents like stampedes.
The largest of these temples occupies an area of 43,000 square feet, while there are several structures spread over 2,000 square feet, he said, adding that large-scale felling of trees there has loosened the soil.
“Despite complaints from various citizen groups since 2015, no action has been taken,” Kumar said.
These groups had organized a 'Save Belapur Hill' rally in April, following which the Maharashtra State Human Rights Commission had issued a notice to government officials. This matter will be heard on July 17.
In response to an RTI query, the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) said 30 sites were given notices for demolition, however the operation to demolish these structures between June 10 and 12 could not be carried out due to shortage of police . Security.
Activists Aditi Lahiri and Himanshu Katkar said authorities are aware of these illegal structures but no one is making efforts to resolve the issue.
BN Kumar, founder of NatConnect Foundation, which filed the RTI petition, said that this encroachment not only creates environmental problems, but the huge crowd in these premises during religious ceremonies can lead to untoward incidents like stampedes.
The largest of these temples occupies an area of 43,000 square feet, while there are several structures spread over 2,000 square feet, he said, adding that large-scale felling of trees there has loosened the soil.
“Despite complaints from various citizen groups since 2015, no action has been taken,” Kumar said.
These groups had organized a 'Save Belapur Hill' rally in April, following which the Maharashtra State Human Rights Commission had issued a notice to government officials. This matter will be heard on July 17.
In response to an RTI query, the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) said 30 sites were given notices for demolition, however the operation to demolish these structures between June 10 and 12 could not be carried out due to shortage of police . Security.
Activists Aditi Lahiri and Himanshu Katkar said authorities are aware of these illegal structures but no one is making efforts to resolve the issue.
