Mumbai: A Thane church has complained to the local police that municipal workers were seen cleaning and clearing a plot of land claimed by the church.
Father John Almeida, trustee of Our Lady of Mercy Church, Pokhran Road No. 2, Thane (West), said that a 'JCB' was seen working on the land without informing the church about the work.
In the complaint to the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Zone 5, Thane, the church said that on March 21, workers claiming to be from the Thane Municipal Corporation office started cleaning and clearing the land. The church said that litigation on the land is pending and yet to reach its finality. The church said the workers could not show proof of a work order. The church has asked the police to stop the work unless they produce a work order.
The plot located on Pokhran Road was sold to a construction company by another church trust in Thane, the sole member having died since then. The plot has now been taken over by the TMC, which has compensated the builder by offering it development rights that can be used elsewhere in the city. The TMC wants to convert a part of the plot into a public playground.
Meanwhile, Our Lady of Mercy church, which is located in an adjacent plot, has also claimed the plot, arguing that the land is part of the ruins of a 17th-century Portuguese-era church. Disputes about the plot are pending before the Thane Civil Court and the Sub Divisional Officer.
The Thane Municipal Corporation has said that a portion of the land is reserved for a public playground. However, the church said that till date no survey has been done by any government agency to demarcate the land. "The land is under litigation, and until all the pending litigation reaches to finality, the demarcation cannot be conducted," said Almeida.
The case dates back to 2016 when a church member filed the petition in the Bombay High Court after the Charity Commissioner passed an order in September 2007, sanctioning the sale of the land by the St John Baptist church trust to the builder.
The Joint Charity Commissioner had rejected the petitioner's application against the sanction, after which the petitioner approached the High Court. The Charity Commissioner's permission is needed to sell properties owned by religious trusts.
Parishioners said they are upset and hurt by developments. “Our fight will not stop against the Illegal church land deal. We will approach the Supreme Court the first week of April,” said a church member.
