BMC, SRA pass the buck on removing illegal mobile tower in Chandivli

The illegal mobile tower is on the terrace of Rajyog society in the Suprabhat housing complex PicSameer MarkandeThe residents of Ekta housing society in Sangharsh Nagar Chandivli have been fighting a mobile towering problem since 2016 but have only received empty assurances to solve it They are facing a radiation scare with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation BMC allegedly refusing to take action against an illegal mobile tower erected on a building in the Suprabhat housing complex where the buildings are basedThe housing complex is a cluster of 13 sevenfloor buildings developed under a slum rehabilitation scheme a few years ago The illegal mobile tower was set up on the terrace of Rajyog housing society in 2016 Ekta society resident Devidas Patil registered a complaint against it with the BMC on December 9 2016 He alleges BMC has only given promises and not taken any concrete actionIssue since 16Speaking to midday Patil said The mobile tower was erected on the terrace of Rajyog society in December 2016 Since it was being set up very close to our home we have raised this issue with the BMC and requested action as it was illegal and the radiation from the tower could affect us After I complained to the Lward Kurla they told me they would take action if it is illegal Then I filed a Right To Information RTI application to which BMC itself admitted to the tower not having any permissionDocuments available with midday show the Lward had issued a MRTP notice against the tower on January 5 2017 and followed it up with a demolition notice on January 24 2017 Following this on April 7 2017 for actions sake the towers electricity was disconnected The action was a complete eyewash The electricity was restored within hours of the civic staffs departure he addedBMC passes the buckAlong with Patil other members of the complex except Rajyog society also raised their voice and organised a signature campaign demanding the towers removal Chairman of the Suprabhat housing complex Pandurang Sawant said We dont know what level of radiation is being emitted from the tower Now BMC is passing the buck First they promised to take action against the illegal tower but later took a Uturn and said SRA would take action Meanwhile SRA said they cant do anything as they are not the competent authorityBMC changed its stand in an RTI reply to Patil on August 29 2017 saying they cant take any action as SRA is the right authority However in another RTI reply on May 20 2017 SRA informed the residents they cant take any actionThe other sideResponding to the allegations assistant municipal commissioner of Lward Ajitkumar Ambi told midday We are not shunning our responsibility of taking action against mobile tower But since SRA was the planning authority we need it in writing from them that this mobile tower is illegal and should be demolished by BMC and all the legal consequences will be taken care of by them or officers from their department should come along with us during the action This is needed as the issue of mobile towers is subjudice and if their owners decide to move to court against BMC action then we can defend in a better wayAn official from SRA looking after this complaint said Our role was to rehabilitate these people We have not given any permission for a mobile tower to be set up at the building Action against such illegal things is supposed to be taken by the local BMC ward Why we should give it in writing to them take action if it is illegalCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates