A public interest litigation (PIL) was filed in the Bombay High Court on Saturday against an allegedly illegal dargah, seeking removal of encroachments on protected mangrove belt on government land near the sensitive Chowk jetty in Uttan near Bhayandar.
Allegations of Massive Illegal Constructions Leads PIL
The PIL, filed by advocate Khush Khandelwal, founder of the Hindu Task Force, alleged massive illegal constructions on land measuring more than 70,000 square feet by the Balleshah Pir Dargah Trust. The PIL has been stamped (PILST/6843/2024) but is still in the pre-admission stage.
Khandelwal had registered written complaints to the district collector, local civic administration and upper tehsildar against the illegalities in November, 2023. However, no action was taken, prompting Khandelwal to file the PIL. Following Khandelwal’s objections, the upper tehsildar had rejected an application filed by the trust seeking regularisation of the shrine and to enter the trust’s name on the 7/12 property extract.
Apart from the alleged illegal encroachments, the shrine is also under the scanner owing to concerns raised by security agencies following reports about frequent visits of anti-national elements.
Dargah Trustee's Claims After PIL Filed
However, trustee of the dargah and former corporator Amjad Shaikh maintained that the dargah has been in existence for more than two centuries, ever since the saint Sayyed Balleshah Pir came and stayed here.
“Allegations of sheltering anti-national or antisocial elements and destroying mangroves are baseless. The police check post is located nearby. Instead of protecting the heritage structure, the dargah is being targeted only because we belong to the minority community. Devotees irrespective of caste, creed and religion come here to pay obeisance,” Shaikh said.
