Mira Bhayandar: In a significant development, Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule has ordered demolition of illegally added portions on a land parcel measuring 1,290 square meters at the Bale Shah Peer Dargah in Uttan before 20 May.
About The Decision
The revenue minister made this announcement in response to a question raised on the issue by legislator- Niranjan Davkhare in the legislative council of the state assembly. It has been alleged that the Bale Shah Peer Charitable Trust had encroached upon protected mangrove belts located on government-owned land parcels near the sensitive Chowk jetty in Uttan near Bhayandar.
Apart from complaints registered by the BJP leader, Adv. Ravi Vyas, a Public Interest Litigation (PILST/6843/2024) has been filed in the Bombay High Court on 2 March 2024 by the founder of the Hindu Task Force, Khush Khandelwal, seeking immediate action against the massive encroachments.
In response, the bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyay and Justice Amit Borkar had directed the dargah trustees and the Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) to file the affidavit-in-reply to the paragraph-wise averments made in the PIL. In legal terms, an averment is a statement of fact or allegation that is made in a charge, information, or in the pleadings of a civil claim.
The HC also pulled up the MBMC for dragging its feet in acting against unauthorised constructions under the provisions of the Maharashtra Regional Town Planning (MRTP) Act. Apart from facing allegations of illegal encroachments, the shrine is also under the scanner owing to concerns raised by security agencies following reports about alleged visits of people having shady backgrounds. However, the trust continues to rubbish the claims of shady visitors while continuing to maintain that the dargah has been in existence for more than two centuries, ever since the saint Sayyed Bale Shah Peer came and stayed here.
