Fish have scored over a pool, at least in a court of law. In an order passed on Wednesday, the city civil court granted an interim stay on the eviction notice served by the BMC to Wildlife Wanderers Nature Foundation (WWNF) at Shivaji Park.
On April 11, DNA had first reported about the legal tussle between Dr Nandkumar Moghe, founder of WWNF, who runs the 25-year-old marine zoo, and the civic body.
The BMC asked WWNF to vacate the 2005 sq feet premises allocated to them in 1986 for the ‘unique project’ of breeding rare marine life and medicinal forests, to make way for the corporation’s Rs 80-crore project – an Olympic-size swimming pool and a martyr’s gallery on Veer Savarkar Marg near the mayor’s bungalow. The eviction notice was issued to WWNF on April 9 and they were given 72 hours to move out.
The BMC had emphasised that the land was required ‘in public interest’ for the redevelopment of a swimming pool as reserved in the final development plan of that ward. Granting the injunction, judge ST Mahajan, however, said that the cause that WWNF worked for was “more important as it was for conservation of wildlife, marine life and environment”.
WWNF’s advocate Jamshed Mistry had also pointed out to the court that the corporation had given the land on lease to WWNF for the special project and in 1992, when the BMC had first tried to evict WWNF from the premises, the high court had come down heavily on the corporation.
The court was also informed that ignoring the status quo order granted by the court earlier this month, the BMC had demolished a compound wall of the marine zoo.
Moghe, former wildlife advisor to the state, said, “We are very happy that the court has granted the injunction. We have nursed this place for 25 years and looked after the fish like family,” Moghe added, “It is unfortunate that instead of supporting the conservation of the environment, the corporation has chosen to oust us from the premises.”
