(This is a presentation to the PRESS made by the Maharashtra State Angling Association, Powai Lake.)

The MSAA was established in 1935 and is a registered body, under the Societies Registration Act No. 3369/55-56. It has about 200 active members. It is a Non-profit organization. Since about 1935, the BMC had let out plot of land bearing CTS Nos. 78, 88 and 69 of Paspoli Village, Powai, to the MSAA. On the land leased out to them the Association has a small Club House with a small office, a conference room, a carpentry and repair shop for boats, a nursery for hatching/rearing fish and lockers for storing equipment MSAA was constituted by a dedicated group of Indians and Foreigners as an Angling Club 66 years ago to impart to its members enthusiasm and knowledge in Angling and Pisciculture including the preservation, increase and development of the fishing resources in waters in Maharashtra and for holding competitions, lectures and visual instructions.  It can therefore rightly claim to be part of the Heritage of the old Bombay and now Mumbai. Importantly since its inception, the Association has been actively involved in protecting the Waters, the Fish, Fauna & Flora, and the Environment at Powai Lake. To lend weightage and direction to our Environmental work, in 1992, the Maharashtra State Angling Association amended its Constitution and by General Body Resolution redefined its objectives "To actively care for, clean, develop, maintain and beautify the Environment at Powai Lake."

Apart from its sporting and educational activities MSAA is also an Environmental organization. The Association spends almost 70% of its budgeted income for the protection of the environment within the waters of Powai Lake.  No pollution whatsoever is being caused to Powai Lake by the Association and The Powai Plot Owners Association. No sewage or pollutants are being let into the lake by the Association or by any other members of The Powai Plot Owners Association around the lake as each have got their own soakpits. While the Association has protected the Lake for 66 years; all kind of pollution has been caused by the neglect and abuse of the lake body by the BMC and the Builders and Quarrying activity which the MSAA has been struggling to bring under control through its activities and awareness drives.

The main items of this expenditure by the MSAA are on :

-Removal of Water Hyacinth on a daily basis by our staff.
-Stocking the lake with fish.
-Engaging Security to patrol the Lake 24 hours to ensure that there is no poaching or destruction of life in the waters of Powai Lake.

By this press release, we wish to inform the Press, and through its columns the people of Mumbai, who are concerned with the Environment, the grossly unfair manner in which the Association has been treated.

A.By non-renewal of its lease, as a 66 year old Organization.

B.By BMC demands seeking unfair and arbitrary amounts which are more than a hundred times over its last fixed Lease Rent.

C.By attempting to take over possession of the property of the Association and members, illegally and by the use of force.

A false campaign has been launched against us, by certain local officers of the BMC, who seem to be in league with some local builders and politicians whose only interest is to evict the Association and other plot holders around Powai Lake represented by The Powai Plot Owners Association, and grab the land, for commercial use and for making huge profits.

This is being done in the name of Protection of Environment, by people who are in fact actively involved in the
destruction of the Environment of Powai Lake.

By a Resolution of the BMC Improvements Committee No. 307 dated 6/12/1990, the Lease of the Plots of the Association and the right of fishing was extended till 31/12/1991 and this was communicated to the Association. Though the Association had applied for extension of lease for a further period well before the expiry of the lease period, nothing was communicated about the grant or rejection of the extension application from 1991 to 1996.

In May 1993, there was an ecological disaster in Powai Lake when over 5 tons of fish died on a single day, due to the illegal drawing of water by Hiranandani Builders.

The Association, as Environmentalists shouldered the responsibility of propagating this misdeed and had initiated public opinion through the support of the press along with photographs of illegal pumps indicating the illegal drawing of water by Hiranandani Builders and the pollution of the lake by these and other builders. Some of these were involved in destroying the catchment area of the lake by illegal blasting activities of the hills around it, which was also resulting in the silting of the lake and reduction of its area and depth.

Over the last two years two crocodiles have died and the MSAA took it upon itself as Environmentalists to bring this calamity to the attention of the people of Mumbai and to the concerned authorities.

Uncontrolled washing of vehicles, animals, washing of clothes, human defecation and discharge of pollutants and disposal of sewerage into the lake by various bodies formed part of the awareness drive of the MSAA.

Such press releases, earned the Association powerful enemies amongst the builders around the lake, whose only interest was to make huge commercial profits.

The Association soon started feeling that certain officers of BMC and in particular one Shri S. N Turkar, the Hydraulic Engineer, started behaving in an hostile manner, this attitude propagated itself upwards within the BMC creating severe subjective bias in the higher echelons of BMC officialdom who have never really therefore investigated and established the tremendous good done by the MSAA.

On 31/01/1996, for the first time the said Mr. S. N. Turkar, Hydraulic Engineer, sent a letter to the Association seeking arrears of compensation amounting to Rs. 8,53,500/-, back dated from the period 01/01/92 to 31/12/1996 and also sought vacant possession of the plot leased to the Association.This back dated demand worked out to Rs. 1,70,700/- per annum, which was over hundred times the last rent of Rs. 1676/- per year which has been charged upto 31/12/1991.

Inspite of correspondence which followed, by which the Association sought clarification as to how the lease rent had been increased by such a drastic amount, and that, also in a back dated period, no clarification was ever given to the Association.

Ultimately, on 15/11/2000 Shri G. R. Khairnar, officer on special duty came to the Association premises at about 5 p.m. alongwith armed security guards and cordoned off the entire premises without following any procedure of law.

In the period between 15th and 28th November during when our Security was obstructed from performing their duties by the BMC staff, our premises and the waters of Powai Lake were invaded by gangs of poachers (thieves) in full view by the BMC personnel who had occupied their positions in the MSAA premises 24 hours. These thieves were casting fishing nets in the Lake and were seen removing large sized fish upto 40Kgs each by some of our members who were keeping vigil from afar i.e. round the periphery of the Lake.

The BMC personnel did absolutely nothing to stop these thieves in their full view and their indifference is clearly seen by us (MSAA) to be an act of abetting robbery and rampage of our property, particularly since they neither brought this to the attention of MSAA committee or to The Police. Our Boats were taken away by these thieves in the presence of BMC personnel and lay scattered all along the periphery. Damage and loss including stealing of fish was estimated at Rs 9.00 lakhs; the Police were intimated by a written complaint.

The Association had to file L.C. Suit No. 6854/2000, in the Bombay City Civil Court in which they took out Notice of Motion No. 5575/2000 for restoration of their possession. Ultimately by an order dated 28/11/2000 the Bombay City Civil Court allowed the Notice of Motion and after passing strictures against the illegal action of the BMC, directed the return of possession of the Club to the Association and this order was not interfered with by the Order of the Bombay High Court dated 22/12/2000 while dismissing AO No.891/2000, with the observation that the BMC would have the liberty to take action after following the prescribed procedure of the BMC Act, which they had not followed. The High Court expressly stated that it would be open to the Association to make representation regarding renewal of the lease to the competent authority of the BMC. In these circumstances, on 28/11/2000, the BMC was forced to take back its illegal cordon around the lake and all the plots are today in the possession, control, power and management of the Association.

In pursuance of the Bombay High Court Order, and subsequent thereto, on 9/1/2001, the Association has applied to the Chairman of the Improvements Committee of BMC, who is in the competent authority, for renewal of the lease and this application is still pending.

In mid June many of the 14 plot owners received legal notices threatening action under section 105B of the BMC Act.  Consequent to this, at the request of the Plot Holders Association, there was a meeting in the office of the Additional Municipal Commissioner Shri Kunte and the Minister of Urban Development Mr. Sunil Tatkare. In both these meetings Mr. Sohoni, the Hydraulic Engineer was present on behalf of the BMC and stated that the Municipal Commissioner was in favour of renewing the leases. The officers of the Association were also present.

Surprisingly in the meeting with Mr. Sunil Tatkare a wrong statement was made by BMC personnel that the High Court had directed legal proceedings under Section 105-B and 105-C of the BMC Act. It was immediately pointed out to the Hon’ble Minister that there was no such direction whatsoever and what the High Court had said was that it was open to the BMC to take such proceedings, since they formed due process of law. It was pointed out that even without this direction, it was always open to the BMC to initiate action under Section 105-B and 105-C of the BMC Act. In fact the High Court categorically stated that it would be open to the Association to apply to the competent authority for renewal of lease, which the Association has done. As the matter was misrepresented, a representation is made to the Honourable Chief Minister.

In such a background we feel that we are being victimized when an Association which is contributing to the Environment should be encouraged. We feel that vested interests have teamed up with certain interested local municipal officers and an attempt is being made to target the Association and lands of other plot holders, with a sole aim of grabbing their lands for future commercial profit.

All these malafide actions are being taken in the garb of improving the environment around the lake and are being promoted by a cleverly designed publicity drive intended only to create an impenetrable smoke screen around the perceptions of responsible citizens of Mumbai and thereby get away with the displacement of the MSAA. The campaign lacks substantial content when queried and explored in depth.

These vested interests and builders are infact responsible for the silting of the lake in the catchment area by illegal blasting. The concerned politicians have recently appeared on the scene after a large amount of money was sanctioned by the Central Government for the upliftment of Powai Lake. They were conspicuously missing when the lake was being silted over and polluted by in so many other ways over the last several years, and have arrived on the scene only alongwith the funds. Huge and costly cut-outs have been put up in the vicinity of Powai Lake, and its approaches.

We fear that the Association, which is 66 yeas old, will be targeted by certain interested local BMC officials at the behest of these politicians and builders.

On its part, the association had informed the BMC that it was willing to pay an increased rent provided that the same was reasonable and rational. The Association has been voluntarily paying an amount of Rs. 75,000/- per annum on account and even for this, the legal notice does not give any credit.

We ask you the Press to air our case to the Environmentalists and the People of Mumbai who have over the last few weeks been inundated with a well calculated stream of meaningless propaganda and fanfare with vague cosmetic acts intended to be seen as an Environmental activity.

We hope that a nullification of this propaganda will help our Association to be seen in its true identity as a protector of the Environment, a role it has always played in concrete terms, so that the BMC may be directed to renew our lease in accordance with any policy of renewal which may be arrived at.

The MSAA will then continue to be strategically positioned to continue to protect and also assist in monitoring improvements and development of Powai Lake within the dictates of Environment friendly activity and not commercial exploitation.

We thank you in anticipation.

Mr. Rajiv Mohite Honorary General Secretary

Mr. Gordon Rodricks Vice President and Jt Hon Secretary