In a development in the battle for the 102 acres land at suburban Kanjurmarg identified for construction of Carshed for three Metro trains in the city, activist Zoru Bhathena moved the Bombay High Court on Friday seeking to intervene in the legal spat going on between the Maharashtra and the Union governments over the title of the land.
A bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Girish Kulkarni accordingly adjourned the hearing in the matter for two weeks.
In his intervention plea, Bhathena stated that the site at Kanjurmarg does not fall in the plot reserved as salt pan land.
"Metro depot plot is neither a salt pan, nor falling under Coastal Regulation Zone, nor forming part of Arthur Salt Works. The Metro Depot
plot (CTS 657A) is also seen on the said CTS Map, which clearly shows that it is a separate and distinct plot from the Arthur plot," Bhathena has said in his plea.
Bhathena has also referred to various records to substantiate his claim that the depot land is distinct from salt pan.
"I would like to emphasise that both the Union government and private firm have come before this court with distorted information. Their claim is not based on merits nor on documents," the plea reads.
"The revenue proceedings referred to by them do not determine title. Neither the Union nor the private firm have objected to the Development Plans (DP) sanctioned from time to time over plot showing depot land distinct from salt pans. From their (Union) own records, prima facie, there are no documents to link the depot plot with Arthur Salt Works, as claimed by them," the plea adds further.
HC would now commence final hearing of arguments in the case in next two weeks.
