Auction of plot outside Bandra station stayed

"Suburban collector Vishwas Patil issued a letter to WR stating prima facie, the land belonged to the state and hence stayed the alienation of the land by way of sale, transfer or development"

Mumbai:- The suburban collector Vishwas Patil has stayed the auction of a prime plot outside Bandra station, by Western Railway. The railway was planning to raise several hundred crores to finance major projects in the metropolis by auctioning 29,000 sq-m of waterlogged land located between Anant Kanekar Marg and the Western Express Highway near the Bandra station on the east side.
However, on October 21, Patil issued a letter to Western Railway stating that prima facie, the land belonged to the state government and hence the stayed the alienation of the land by way of sale, transfer or development. He also warned that any government agency or private party buying this land will be doing so entirely at their risk.
A spokesperson of WR said, "The issue is being handled the land management department of the railway board in Delhi. We are not concerned about the notice." However, another WR official said the railway ministry should have done its homework before going ahead with the auction. Patil's notice has caused a major embarrassment to the railways," he added.
The issue was first raised by local MLA Janardhan Chandurkar of the Congress who claimed that the land belonged to the state government. He wanted to know how the railways were auctioning land, which did not belong to them in the first place, and that too without the permission of the state government.
Following a representation made by Chandurkar, Patil visited the spot on October 18 along with senior officials of the city survey office, revenue department and tehsildar. He said even the property card had not been created for the relevant land.
"But under the Maharashtra Land Revenue Code, 1996, all rivers, creeks and water bodies are owned by the state government." Patil said. He added that an inquiry has been ordered under Section 20 (2) of the land revenue code and he has asked WR to send its representative for the first hearing to be held on November 18.