The Supreme Court’s call urging religious institutions to take the lead in removing encroachments showed its maiden results on Tuesday with the centuries-old Haji Ali Dargah trust taking an unprecedented step to clear 904 square metre of encroachments around the dargah on its own.
With an ancient mosque situated close to the dargah that encroached upon public land, the Trust had approached apex court against a Bombay High Court order directing demolition of all encroachment. As a way out, the apex court agreed to stay the order, provided the Trust itself would clear the encroachment, stating that no religious institution in the country should be seen supporting encroachment.Fulfilling its undertaking given to Court, the Trust informed the bench of Chief Justice JS Khehar, Justices PC Ghose and DY Chandrachud that "substantial" encroachment was removed except for a portion of encroachment involving 500 sq metres. The Court gave the encroachers four weeks to clear the same failing which it directed the Special Task Force constituted by the HC to carry out the demolition. In addition, the bench directed the Municipal Corporation of Mumbai to prepare a beautification plan of the area by June 30, with an aim to make it an international tourist destination