Mumbai: The ongoing widening of Swami Vivekananda Road (S V Road) at Irla has run into community opposition, with custodians of a local Holy Cross claiming they have been kept in the dark about plans affecting the shrine. Caretakers maintain that the structure enjoys Category ‘A’ heritage protection.
BMC Notices Issued
The dispute follows recent notices issued by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's (BMC) K/West Ward to owners and occupiers whose properties fall within the proposed 27.45-metre road-widening alignment. Local residents have alleged that while the area surrounding the Irla Holy Cross has been marked in the road-widening layout, no official notice has been served on the shrine’s custodians.
Advocates Godfrey Pimenta and Nicholas Almeida of the Watchdog Foundation said the Irla Junction Holy Cross is a Category ‘A’ Protected Heritage Structure. They noted that its status is recognised under a State Government Resolution dated 5 May 2011, issued following Supreme Court directives on religious shrines in public spaces.
No Demolition Notice
The activists alleged that the St John the Baptist Church Save Committee, identified as the custodian of the shrine, has not received any demolition notice. However, local sources informed them that the Holy Cross at the junction of S V Road and Ram Ganesh Gadkari Marg could be affected by the project.
The Watchdog Foundation criticised what it described as "selective action" by civic authorities, arguing that the legal protection of the cross is already a matter of record before the Bombay High Court.
BMC Official Unaware
“We are not against the widening of the road, but the structure is protected. We want a commitment from the municipal corporation that the cross will be relocated and not destroyed,” said Pimenta. He pointed to a protected cross in Mahim that was successfully shifted during construction of the underground Shitladevi Metro station.
“We want an assurance in writing that the Irla cross will be relocated and not demolished,” he added.
Chakrapani Alle, Assistant Municipal Commissioner of K/West Ward, said he was unaware of the matter and would require further details. He did not respond to subsequent queries.
Pimenta warned that any action taken without due process, including permissions from heritage and statutory authorities, would amount to a violation of the law and court orders. He added that, given the shrine’s Category ‘A’ classification, there is no justification for revisiting its legal status.
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