The members of the Kalina-Vakola-Kurla residents’ association have complained to the Chief Minister against BJP Mumbai Vice President, Amarjeet Singh, for allegedly building 50 shanties at the Vakola bridge overnight, near the Mumbai University Campus

The members of the Kalina-Vakola-Kurla residents’ association have complained to the Chief Minister against BJP Mumbai Vice President, Amarjeet Singh, for allegedly building 50 shanties at the Vakola bridge overnight, near the Mumbai University Campus. The association claims that the open land, which has been free of encroachment from years, has been taken over by Singh, who is the owner of a security agency.

However, Singh denied the allegation. “I give security to whoever requires it. I was asked by a certain party, who has the land, to provide protection, I did. I am not involved in the property at all,” said Singh. Though Singh claims that the land is in no way connected to him, the association claimed that a close friend of his is the whistleblower in the scam. “We are not making any claims or accusations. A very close aide of Singh himself told us about this. Now, it’s our job to make sure action is taken against this,” said Pradeep Nambiar, member of the association, who is also an advocate.

“This is direct abuse of power. After coming into the ruling party, people like Amarjeet Singh get the power to take steps like these. At a time when children from the city find it hard to get open spaces to play, sports takes a backseat, because of reasons like these. We all know the situation of sports in India. We can see here, how politics and corruption go hand in hand.” Nambiar said.

On August 14, the association witnessed how the shanties had appeared overnight and had bouncers guarding them, and immediately wrote a letter regarding the same to the Chief Minister. On August 16, the MMRDA was informed and a case was registered with the Bandra Police. On August 24, the association members met ward officer Prashant Gaikwad, who has promised swift action against the same. The association claims that the land belongs to the government and no private party should be allowed to encroach upon it. “This is how the entire Mumbai is getting encroached. Private parties take over public spaces, convert them into slum areas, and then say they are under SRA. The land then belongs to them.” Nambiar said. The association’s members, after going to the spot, saw that none of the shanties were actually occupied, but workers who were constructing them were living inside a few. “It is only a way to convert open spaces of Mumbai into profit making entities. If everything was done legitimately, why did the concerned party need bouncers? What are they afraid of?” Nambiar said.