The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is acting on its 2017 notice to demolish a part of Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan’s ‘Prateeksha Bungalow’ for road widening.
In a notice to Bachchan’s family, the civic body had informed that a portion of their bungalow plot will be acquired for the widening of the Sant Dnyaneshwar Marg road. It has also instructed Mumbai Suburban Collector City survey officials to demarcate the exact portion of the bungalow that need to be acquired for road widening.
Advocate Tulip Brian Miranda, Municipal Councillor in an interaction with ANI revealed that whole all the work for the key project has been done, widening around Amitabh Bachchan’s house remains yet to be acted upon.
“The BMC had given notice to actor Amitabh Bachchan in 2017 about this situation under the road winding policy. The wall of the plot adjoining Bachchan’s bungalow was taken and drainage has been created. But Bachchan’s house has been left untouched,” Miranda said.
She added, “When the notice was issued, why was the land not taken? It belonged to a common person they would have taken it immediately under Section 299 of the Municipal Act notice that says you don’t have to wait for a second notice of appeal.”
“I wrote to the BMC in Feb 2021. I did not receive a reply so I had a telephonic conversation with the ward officer and wrote to the commissioner but still did not receive a reply. This is a very necessary project because there are two schools, a hospital, an ISKCON temple, and monuments in Mumbai are around. The road winding project has been suddenly stopped just because of Amitabh Bachchan’s Bungalow,” she added.
“I started agitation and followups in February. I am very happy that this work resumed when I said that I will go to Lokayukta if this particular order is not followed and if it notice is not consummate,” she concluded.
