Salisbury Park residents raise objection over BJP corporator’s name to public garden

Chaitraly Deshmukh

The citizens who were healing from the two-decade long struggle and winning the 3.5 acres land possession for the development of Salisbury Park Garden are now feeling cheated. The garden developed in the area now bears the name of Bharatiya Janata Party corporator’s father’s name. A signature campaign has been started by the Salisbury Park Citizens Forum against him.

It all started in 1990 and again in 2004 when the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) issued a notification to de-reserve a plot of land originally earmarked for a garden and handed it over to a local builder. About 300 residents organised a rally in protest under the banner ‘Salisbury Park Residents Forum’ along with local Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) corporator Shrinath Bhimale and filed a case in court which went on for several years.

In 2015, the Bombay high court directed the PMC to pay ₹18 crore to the district administration and take possession of the land. As the original owner did not object to the PMC acquiring the land, the civic body completed the legal formalities, took possession of the land, and began developing a garden on the plot that was earlier used to dump garbage in 2016. Even as work on the garden began, the PMC challenged the increased compensation amount which by subsequent HC ruling was referred to a larger bench in 2018 and further increased to ₹76 crore and fought till the apex court of India.

A year back the Salibury garden was inaugurated and the local citizens were shocked to see the name change.

Speaking to Pune Pulse about the issue veteran journalist Vinita Deshmukh said, ‘The Salisbury garden, right next to the Gool Poonawalla Park, which has blossomed so beautifully, is the dogged perseverance of citizens of the neighbourhood for several decades to get back the plot earmarked for a garden from a builder. Now, the BJP corporator, Shrinath Bhimale has illegally put up a board naming the garden after his father. We denounce this clandestine act and demand the immediate removal of the board.’

She further said, “The garden that has been created is one of the initiatives of the citizen campaign that had been initiated in the 1990’s and that time corporator Bhimale too joined the campaign. That time itself we had decided that no political party name or any person name will be given to the garden. It seems that BJP corporator Shrinath has forgotten to it. The board was installed five days ago. The garden is the culmination of the citizens’ victorious campaign and not only due to the effort of any one politician. We now notice and feel let down that Corporator has gone back on his commitment and renamed the garden without even consulting the locals. The garden is not sponsored by any politician or from the family but our own money via taxpayers has come.”

She added, “We have appealed to Corporator as well as PMC to initiate action and remove the current name board. We have proposed to name it as “Salisbury Park Garden” .

When Pune Pulse contacted Shrinath Bhimale, local corporator of Salisbury Park he said, “It was me and my wife who participated in the struggle of the citizens to give them back their piece of land earmarked for a public garden. I too have bear many oppositions during this struggle. The garden bears my fathers name who was a great social activist and environmentalist. I am ready to hold talks with the citizens regarding this issue.”