Mumbai: Borivli’s very own illegal Chowpatty

A food plaza under the banner of lsquoBorivali Chowpattyrsquo popped up in Shimpoli right under the authoritiesrsquo nose over a month ago and has already shot up the popularity charts It was only after an activistrsquos complaint that the BMC ordered action against the encroachers who opened the stalls that are spread over 882 sq metres of the Collectorrsquos landReji Abraham the activist who complained to the BMC last week said the encroachers have opened pav bhaji pani puri ice gola pizza burger Chinese and other Mumbaifamous street food stalls on the plot on the lines of Juhu and Girgaon ChowpattyAround 12 huge food stalls have been opened under the name of lsquoBorivali Chowpattyrsquo on Collectorrsquos land at RM Bhattad Road at Borivli West Abraham said all the stalls are owned by one person but no one knows who and the sellers at the stalls are just workersHe added that local political heavyweights are suspected to be behind this brazen encroachmentNidhi Chaudhari collector Mumbai Suburban districtmidday paid a visit to the Chowpatty on Tuesday night and found a huge crowd and traffic jam on roads in the vicinity Just in about 45 days this place went viral on social media as wellSpeaking to midday Assistant Municipal Commissioner Bhagyashri Kapse of R Central ward said ldquoWe have received the complaint and Additional Municipal Commissioner Suresh Kakani has also informed us to take necessary action against these illegal eateriesThe food plaza has become quite popular among the localsBorivli Chowpatty is located on the Collectorrsquos land and the temporary stalls were opened without any official permission We will take necessary actionrdquoFirst came a plant nurseryAbraham who is the president of United Association for Social Educational and Public Welfare Trust said ldquoEarlier some encroachers ran a plant nursery here Suddenly over a month back 1012 street food shops like the ones at Juhu Chowpatty cropped up on this land Itrsquos beachthemedThe Collectorrsquos land is being misused by the land grabbers for commercial uses I even wrote a letter to the BMC and the Collector asking them to take necessary action against the encroachersrdquoldquoThe revenue department as custodian of the public land must act more responsibly in larger public interest The BMC as the planning authority has a lot to answer for such rampant acts of complicity and must without fail be held responsible for overlooking the interests of citizens at large to aid land mafia for pecuniary benefits Police Commissioner Sanjay Pandey with many visible publicoriented initiatives can hopefully come up with directions to act against such landgrab crimes aided by corrupt enforcing authoritiesrdquo Abraham addedCollector speakMumbai Suburban District Collector Nidhi Chaudhari told midday ldquoI will inform the deputy collectorrsquos Encroachment Department to examine and remove the structures of the illegal eatery shops if they are running without any permission The BMC is the planning authority as they have all the rights especially for food stalls Unfortunately the deputyrsquos encroachment store doesnrsquot report to me and they come under the housing department which comes under the revenue departmentThis department has the task to protect the government land which means to protect collector land as well We have started a new process wherein we erect boundary walls after removing encroachers from the Collectorrsquos land We are also starting several new projects with the BMC and the government authorities to protect the Collectorrsquos landrdquoldquoIf itrsquos a collector land we are informing the collector to take necessary action against the encroachers and also we are informing the police commissioner to register a criminal case against the land grabbersrdquo Kakani said12Approx no of stalls at Borivali Chowpatty