Mumbai: Minister Ashish Shelar’s assertion that a land’s original reservation cannot be altered to only suit a particular use appears to be at odds with BMC’s actions. Proposals for changes in land use have been made for multiple sites in the city and a 1,005sm plot housing the now defunct century-old Alexandra Theatre in Byculla and a 3,439sqm plot in Versova meant for a fire station and a civic post are set to be the latest casualties.BMC will move a proposal on Wednesday before its improvements committee seeking to remove the Byculla plot’s cinema/entertainment reservation and rezone it for residential use. Opposing the plan, the Kamathipura development committee on Tuesday urged BMC to retain the existing reservation and protect one of the few remaining recreational amenities in the locality. In a letter to BMC chief Ashwini Bhide, the committee said the state govt, through Mhada, is undertaking a group redevelopment project spread across around 34 acres in Kamathipura. It said the redevelopment will substantially alter the neighbourhood and have a significant impact on available recreational and public amenities. It said it is, therefore, important to preserve land reserved for such amenities. The committee urged the civic administration not to alter the reservation “under any circumstances”. According to BMC’s proposal, the theatre has been closed since 2007 and owing to the current condition of the premises and changing trends in the entertainment sector, running it is no longer economically viable. Besides, it said, the building is in a very dilapidated condition. The proposal said an application seeking cancellation of the cinema reservation and inclusion of the plot for residential use was submitted by Sameer Qazi of the state waqf board to deputy CM Eknath Shinde on Feb 25. The state urban development department subsequently sought BMC’s opinion on the proposed change. The plot’s occupant, Rafiq Patel, also submitted an application to the civic development planning department. Following scrutiny and verification by the civic departments concerned, a proposal to delete the cinema reservation is now being placed before the improvements committee. Approval of the civic House of corporators will also be required for the change.
