Mumbai-Ahmedabad Highway flooding: Crackdown on dhabas

Soon after middayrsquos report about encroachers flooding the MumbaiAhmedabad Highway hit the newsstands the VVCMC demolished several illegal dhabas and stalls near Sasunavghar in Vasai East In the presence of security personnel workers razed structures built on NHAI land said officials We have demolished the part of structures of around 40 dhabas that were using the land of the National Highways Authority of India NHAIrdquo said Kishore Gavas deputy municipal commissioner Vasai Virar City Municipal Corporation VVCMC However no FIR has been filed as yet because the VVCMC is ldquobusy in the antiencroachment driverdquo said GavasWorkers demolish illegal dhabas and stalls along the MumbaiAhmedabad Highway near Sasunavghar in Vasai East on TuesdayThe encroachment along the MumbaiAhmedabad Highway near Sasunavghar in Vasai East had clogged a culvert which is essential to drain rainwater During heavy downpour the rainwater gets accumulated on the highway as the encroachments have blocked the natural drainage system the culvert and lands have been illegally filled with debris piling up to 40feet high ldquoWe have made a temporary drain so that the rainwater can recede from the highway It took us four days to make the temporary drainrdquo said a civic officialThe blame gameThe matter also exposed alleged corruption at VVCMC and Palghar district collectorrsquos DC offices with officials turning a blind eye to illegal land filling and encroachments The land filling happened behind Kinara dhaba ldquoIt is private land and the illegal activity has been going on for the past three to four yearsrdquo said Anil Thakur manager of Kinara dhabaThe illegal land filling has triggered a blame game between revenue and civic officials Officials told midday that the VVCMC in a letter dated May 9 informed the Vasai taluka tahsildar about the illegal filling of landmdashSurvey No 117mdashat Sasunavghar ldquoWe had also requested the tahsildar to take action against those involved in illegal land filling but the revenue official did not pay heed to our letterrdquo said Mohan Sankhe the assistant municipal commissioner of G wardActivist Atul Mote said ldquoHad the revenue department acted on time the road users would not have had to waste their valuable time in traffic jams The VVCMC and NHAI officials should also have been proactive in keeping a check on encroachments and land fillingrdquo ldquoRecently the Palghar DC Govind Bodke called a meeting and pulled up civic officials But why didnrsquot the DC act on VVCMCrsquos complaint in May What stopped the revenue officials from taking legal action against those involved in land fillingrdquo Mote askedlsquoItrsquos VVCMCrsquos jobrsquoThe DC however said that it was the VVCMCrsquos job to prevent illegal activities in the area ldquoThe VVCMC is the planning authority of the area and it is their job to keep a check on illegal land filling I have told VVCMC officials to also act against encroachmentsrdquo Bodke told middayIt took four days to create a temporary drain amid 40ft high debris dumped behind Kinara dhaba say officials PicsHanif PatelVasai taluka Tahsildar Avinash Kosti said ldquoThe civic officials donrsquot know their own rights to work They have been dumping their responsibility on the revenue department We did nothing about the May letter because it had nothing to do with the revenue department Even today July 4 the VVCMC sent a letter seeking action against those responsiblerdquoldquoThe municipal corporation should check how trucks are entering in their jurisdiction from Mumbai and dumping debris on private landrdquo Kosti told midday A civic official said they may set up a checkpost near Varsova bridge to prevent this Meanwhile neither the VVCMC nor the DC has been able to find the person dumping debris behind Kinara dhaba40No of dhabas razed on Tuesday