Sunday, July 15, 2012

 Open Spaces / Grounds are property of Garodia Nagar Welfare Society

MUMBAI: After more than a decade-long court struggle against a developer, the keys to five recreation ground plots were recently handed over to the jubilant residents of Garodia Nagar in Ghatkopar (E).

On Friday, many senior citizens attended the formal ceremony of handing over of the plots.

Garodia Nagar Residents' Federation mainly comprises 1,896 buildings, with 15,000-odd residents who will now have access to five open spaces, measuring over 15,000 sq m.

The struggle began in 1985, when the developer started misusing the five plots meant for RG by allegedly gifting them away to other parties. The plots belonged to Garodia Nagar colony, for which the builder had given an undertaking to the BMC to fully develop the area in Ghatkopar (East), develop the RGs and hand over the plots to the Garodia Nagar Residents' Federation.

"We wrote to then BMC commissioner S Tinaikar and half-a-dozen municipal commissioners visited the plots. Ultimately, we filed a PIL in 2001 and the chief justice said that since it's a civic problem, let the municipal commissioner intervene in the matter. The BMC's DMC Zone VI was appointed to look into the matter. When he called us, the developer as well as Garodia Nagar residents made a presentation before the BMC," said BGK Murthy (78), a resident of Garodia Nagar Colony.

Residents were told that they wouldn't get the plot unless they formed a Federation of Societies. Within three months, they formed a federation and got it registered under the Societies Act. When they didn't get a satisfactory response, they filed another PIL in 2003.

"A letter was given to the developer to hand over the plots to the federation. He challenged the order in the Bombay HC with a writ petition and it was quashed on December 6, 2006," said Murthy. Despite losing the writ petition, the developer didn't hand over the plots. So, residents pursued with the HC and got the plots back. The order was given on October 5, 2011. The developer handed over the plots to the BMC in December 2011.

On May 7, 2012, the HC finally ordered the BMC to hand over the plots to the Garodia Nagar Federation of Housing Societies.

"We are going to develop them into recreation grounds and contact some sponsors. We have so many aged people and kids residing here," said Murthy.