Mumbai: The Shri Vile Parle Kelavani Mandal (SVKM) president and BJP MLC Amrish Patel on Wednesday said he would have to spend around Rs 50 crore for upgrading the three open plots allotted to the trust.“I have nothing to gain. I want to give something to the city. The aggregate size of total plots allotted to SVKM is 14.11 acres, not 16 acres. The measured areas are 11.57 acres (Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Krida Sankul in Andheri), 0.92 acres (Lokmanya Tilak Udyan in Juhu) and 1.62 acres (D N Nagar in Andheri), aggregating to 14.11 acres,” he said.SVKM claimed that there is no wrongdoing in the allotments and said that the opposition from resident groups stems from misunderstanding. Local residents, Mumbai BJP president and MLA Ameet Satam as well as Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Aaditya Thackeray have opposed the allotment of the open spaces to SVKM.Satam, who was the first to oppose the allotments, has written to Mhada and BMC asking them to scrap the allotments immediately. The Gulmohar Area Societies Welfare Group and RTI activist Anil Galgani have also urged chief minister Devendra Fadnavis to ensure that all three plots remain reserved open spaces, open and accessible to the general public at all times, in conformity with the Development Plan.SVKM said the plots were not given for free and it paid charges as per rules. “Mhada retains ownership of two plots; both are limited-period licences. The sports complex was allotted through an open tender and SVKM will pay 50% of revenue to BMC while keeping the space open for the public at all times,” Patel said.“There are misconceptions. These plots are not in a good condition. I will not comment on BMC and how they maintain open spaces. But are open spaces being maintained? There is still space on the D N Nagar plot for the proposed edutainment theme park,” Patel said.
