Maharashtra: Land mafia eats into 30 per cent of plot identified for new Tulinj police station

The plan to relocate the Nalasoparabased Tulinj police station where the cops have to deal with a stinking nullah that flows beneath them has hit two roadblocks On the one hand the land mafia has encroached upon nearly 30 per cent the Sai Bazaar plot a part of which the civic body had picked to hand over to the home department to construct a new police station On the other the state cabinet is unwilling to alter the status of the entire plot which has been reserved for a playground saying lsquohow India will expect medals in international sporting events if the land reservation is altered to run a police stationrsquoThe total area of the Sai Bazaar plot is 20 acres out of which the VasaiVirar City Municipal Corporation VVCMC had identified a nearly 32guntha piece of land for the construction of a building to house the Tulinj police stationEvery monsoon the station is flooded with rain and sewagePolice station woesThe building of the Tulinj police station one of the busiest in the Mira Bhayandar Vasai Virar MBVV police is illegal as it was constructed on a garden plot and nullah in Nalasopara East This police station has no specified area for officials and visitors to park their vehicles So officialsrsquo vehicles as well as private ones are parked in the middle of the road which chokes traffic and inconveniences one and allAlso read Mumbai Hidden pollution monsters wonrsquot get away anymoreAbove all the nullah underneath the building raises a stink and during the monsoon season the police station gets flooded and cops have to wade through fourfeethigh rainwater Every year important case files computers electronic items and furniture get damagedRights body steps inConsidering the sensitivity of the issue midday published a frontpage article on April 3 and the State Human Rights Commission took cognisance of the matter and the additional chief secretary home was asked to submit a factfinding enquiry report on the issueFrom left 20acre Sai Bazaar plot in Nalasopara which is reserved for a playground 32guntha plot piece of land identified for the new police station Police station lacks a parking area which contributes to traffic snarlsThe following month Zonal Deputy Commissioner of Police Pournima ChouguleShringi submitted an affidavit to the SHRC highlighting the urgent requirement to relocate Tulinj police stationIn the affidavit the DCP wrote ldquoOn several occasions the municipal commissioner VVCMC has been approached by police officials and requested to allot suitable land for the Tulinj police station It is informed by the VVCMC that a proposal for Tulinj police station land is pending in Mantralaya for the cabinets approval for the sanction for altering the reservation of the playgroundrdquoThe correspondent has learnt that of late the ACS Home Sujata Saunik called for a meeting at Mantralaya where MBVV Police Commissioner Madhukar Pandey VVCMC Commissioner Anilkumar Pawar and other officials were presentlsquoGovt hesitant to alter land reservationrsquoSources in the police department told midday that the state government is hesitant to alter the land reservation to further use the plot to run a police stationldquoWe are law enforcers but Tulinj police station is being run in an unauthorised building What message are we conveying After our relentless efforts VVCMC identified a 20acre land parcel in the Sai Bazaar area of Nalasopara East for the police station But the land mafia constructed unauthorised residential buildings where people are staying on it This is only possible as the municipal corporation is doing nothing against illegal constructionsrdquo said a senior police officer in MBVVAnother officer said ldquoThis 20acre plot is reserved for a playground A building to run a police station can be constructed only if the land reservation is altered which is only possible if the cabinet approves the move But the cabinet has rejected our requests and told us that lsquoif the land reservation for the playground is altered how can we expect medals in international sporting eventsrsquo When we highlighted the fact that the land for the playground has already been encroached upon by the land mafia senior officials at Mantralaya became tightlipped This is so strangerdquoThe officer added ldquoIn September a meeting was held with the ACS home in Mantralaya and VVCMC chief Pawar was informed that the Sai Bazaar plot for the playground has already been encroached upon by the land mafia In the meeting Pawar was asked to submit a police complaint to register an FIR under the MRTP Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act against the builders who constructed the unauthorised buildings But so far Tulinj police station has not received any complaint from VVCMC to act against the bogus builders The message is clear that the civic officials are handinglove with bogus developers and the VVCMC agreed to give the Sai Bazaar plot to shift the Tulinj police station as they knew that it had already been encroached uponrdquoAnother encroached plotMeanwhile after much hue and cry in the September meeting the VVCMC agreed to hand over a 20guntha plot located in Moregaon talao the land mafia had constructed unauthorised buildings on that piece of land tooldquoA police station needs to be located at the centre of the area under its officersrsquo jurisdiction to ensure better policing The Moregaon talao option is not feasible for visitors as it is very close to Virar and our officers will have to travel while going about their work in their jurisdiction Above all why should we take extra effort to remove the encroachment which is the duty of the municipal corporation So we are not considering this optionrdquo said the officerAn officer who was previously attached to Tulinj police station said ldquoIt is really disgusting to go to Tulinj police station which is constructed on a nullah I faced various health issues as it stinks a lot Above all many police officers would face health issues in the monsoon when water would flood the premises and you had to wade through it Later on when the flood water recedes it smells like hell One canrsquot eat anything when it stinks I am wondering why the government is not serious about health issues of the police forcerdquoDCP Pournima ChouguleShringi said ldquoNearly 2530 per cent of the 20acre Sai Bazaar plot has been encroached upon by the land mafia but if the VVCMC officials approach us to help them remove the encroachmentrdquo20acresTotal area of Sai Bazaar plot