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Mumbai: Residents of Goregaon and municipal officials have come to an amicable settlement in a dispute over an old cross that had to be removed for widening the arterial S V Road.
On Tuesday, while demolishing shops and homes near Filmistan Studios, officials from 'P' South Ward of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), residents wanted a written undertaking that the crucifix would be relocated.
However, as the structure, estimated to have been erected three generations ago, does not have any property documents the residents agreed to an oral assurance that it will be reinstalled at a new location nearby.
Civic group Watchdog Foundation has written to the BMC, saying that municipal policy says that structures affected by such work are entitled to permanent alternate accommodation.
"As such there are several structures affected by the proposed road widening, which have been served notices for demolition. .....The officials of 'P' South Ward have orally instructed the caretaker of the said Holy Cross to remove the said Holy Cross without service of any notice or providing any permanent alternate space for the relocation of the said Holy Cross. This amounts to discriminatory practices adopted by officials of “P” South Ward," said Godfrey Pimenta of Watchdog Foundation.
Pimenta said that the caretakers of the cross are willing to relocate it nearby, provided the ward officials issue a proper letter in writing suggesting the alternate location. "It is relevant and pertinent to note that the Holy Cross is constructed on private property and not on road or footpath," added Pimenta.
Residents said they would remove the cross, install it in another place for safekeeping, and reinstall it at the new spot allotted to them. Edwin Creado, whose great-grandfather had built the cross, said, "We decided not to prolong the dispute after we were assured that a new spot would be allocated for the cross once the footpath is constructed on the widened road. We did not insist on a written promise as we do not have documents to challenge the matter in the court," said Creado.
An official from the municipal ward said that the demolition of the shops was part of the plan to widen the S V Road to a width of 90 feet. More than 200 structures were creating bottlenecks on the congested road.
Holy crosses were built as thanksgiving and protection from epidemics. Many crucifixes date back from the plague that hit Mumbai in the late nineteenth century. These crosses are called 'plague crosses'.
