SC gives Maharashtra government extension to clear up Haji Ali encroachment

Haji Ali Dargah

The encroachments on the 908 square meter area on the approach road towards Haji Ali Dargah is usually one of the most crowded spots in the entire are. In an attempt to clear up the space the High court had issued an order for the illegal encroachments to be cleared. Soo thereafter the Supreme Court has now ordered the Maharashtra Government to take the matters into their hands. But due to inaction, the Supreme Court has given the state government time to remove these illegal encroachments.

In a report by The Hindu, the Supreme Court bench comprising of Chief Justice J.S. Khehar and Justice D.Y. Chandrachud agreed to grant two more weeks to the authorities to remove the encroachments and told the Deputy Collector to ensure that its order is complied with. This order came after the Haji Ali Dargah trust expressed inability to clear the encroachment.

In its statement the Supreme Court told the Deputy Collector of Colaba that there would be "serious consequences" of the orders were not followed within two weeks. The order came after the apex court made the observation that only the 171 sq meters that the dargah sits on will be protected, and the rest of the area (908 sq meters) must be cleared of sqatters. When this ruke was passed the Haji Ali Dargah trust promised to remove the squatters. So much so that on May 9th the Apex court lauded them on their effort in attempting to remove squatters. But on April 13th, the Dargah Trust relented to the tough stand taken by the Apex court to remove all the encroachments completely and promised to remove them completely.

The initial problem started when the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai was of the view that the land on the approach road to Haji Ali was within the Collector's jurisdiction and should be cleared. In response to this the High Court had ordered the formation of a joint task force comprising the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai and the Collector to help remove the illegal encroachments. The Haji Ali Dargah was constructed in 1431 in memory of Sayyed Peer Haji Ali Shah Bukhari.