MBMC plays blind as LPG cylinder blast case exposes misuse of reserved plots

The multiple Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) cylinder blast incident which rocked Mira Road on February 8, has once again put the spotlight on the massive misuse of private and government owned property which have been tagged for various public amenities across the twin-city.

Deafening explosions awoke residents after a massive blaze broke out in LPG-cylinder laden trucks which were parked in an open ground amidst a cluster of buildings in the Ram Nagar area of Mira Road. The plot on which the incident took place is a privately owned property tagged with reservation and yet to be taken over by the civic administration.

Approved in May-1997, MBMC’s Development Plan (DP), blueprint has more than 300 plots – owned by private individuals and government bodies – are reserved for amenities such as playgrounds, recreation grounds, gardens, among others. The civic body is expected to acquire these plots by paying compensation to the owners in exchange of development rights certificates (DRC) and build amenities for citizens.

However, the Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) has miserably failed to acquire hundreds of such properties which are now being used for commercial activities like- marriage lawns, private sports turf and illegal parking lots, leading to incidents like the multiple cylinder blasts case in Mira Road.

As the six member civic committee continues to sit on the outcome of the probe, the police have arrested five people including the truck drivers and operators of the gas agency have been apprehended and booked under sections 285, 286, 337 338, 427 of the IPC.

However, action eludes the plot owner who is said to be an influential politician leader. “Prima-facie it appears that the land owner was not taking any rent to allow parking. But we have sought information about the land from the town planning department.” revealed a police officer.