Mumbai News: Lokhandwala Complex Gurudwara Appeals To State Minorities Commission Against Bombay HC's Demolition Order

Mumbai: The Maharashtra State Minorities Commission inspected the controversial Sanja Chulha Guru Ka Langar Trust Gurudwara at Joggers Park, Lokhandwala Complex, Andheri West, on Thursday afternoon following an appeal by the shrine to regularise the structure.

Commission member Wasim Burhan who visited the gurudwara and met members of the trust, said he will submit his report to the Commission which will take a decision on the appeal.

Last week, in response to a public interest litigation filed by members of the Lokhandwala Joggers Park Association who alleged that the gurdwara is illegal as it was built by converting a security cabin into a shrine and a community kitchen, the Bombay High Court directed the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation to demolish it.

The trust said that the structure is not illegal as it was constructed with funds from Baldev Khosa, former MLA. The trust added that they complied with a 2024 BMC notice by removing a rain shed and other additions to the structure.

"Now they are asking us to demolish the legal structure. Two structures were built in the park. How can one be legal and the other illegal? A reply under the Right To Information law says that we have complied with the order," said Hemant Nair, a member of the Sanjha Chulha Guru ka Langar Trust.

A Guru Granth Sahib, the holy book of Sikhism, has been installed in the 300-square-feet structure which is used as a prayer room. However, the trust denied running a kitchen or encroaching the jogging track. They added that the place was used by members of different religious communities.

A letter from Baljeet Kaur, member of the trust, to Charandeep Singh, Member Chairman, Maharashtra State Minority Commission, on April 30, says that nearly 1000 families use the gurdwara and the possibility of hurting religious sentiments cannot be ruled out if the place is demolished. The trust, therefore, requested government authorities to regularise the structure as per government rules.

The petitioners said that the garden was built in 2003 and was handed over to a club in 2013 for maintenance. During the COVID pandemic, people from the club started a langar - a community kitchen - inside the room to distribute food to the needy. The room was converted into an illegal shrine, they said.

Burhan said, "There are two structures on the sides of the jogging track. The trust told us they have been maintaining the place for 23 years. It is a religious structure and we do not see why it should be a problem. The trust claimed it is not illegal. However, the chairman will take the final decision."

The shrine trust said that their appeal to the Maharashtra State Minorities Commission was an appeal against the High Court order.