The real divine encroachers

Land ownership has been the oldest right that mankind has ever known. History is witness from the times of Mahabharat war to the war of Kargil that land ownership has been a key issue at the core of military contention. Also with land ownership come tags like land encroachment and forcible occupation.

Ironically in the land of Bharat where Lord Ram has been revered by millions for millions of years some Macaulayists haven’t hesitated to call the Lord himself as a divine encroacher just because his followers have made an effort to place him in the land that even Mughal records recognize as the birthplace of Lord Ram and hence rightfully his entitlement. 

Now let’s review who is actually the owner or encroacher of land in India. As per genuine estimates land holding in India is naturally led by the government of India followed by the Catholic church. Yes you read it right, it’s the catholic church that holds the largest non agricultural land holding in India even surpassing the government of India on this count. While most of this was bestowed upon them during Nehruvian times, increased funding of Xtian NGO’s in recent times has also aided the rise of Church activities that range from education to medical fields.

One of these is the holy family church that owns a sprawling multi-acre land pocket in Mumbai’s premium business district of Andheri. While at the go everything seems okay there are two striking things that make this place stand out. One is the cross that is encroached right in the middle of the road. Despite a 30 yard wide compound in front of the church, this cross is 3 metres into the middle of the road offset from the footpath on the southern side on Andheri Kurla road.

Second is the huge hoarding on the eastern side towards the Mahakali caves road. Now at the outset this too seems fine however if the church was supposed to be working for social causes of education like the Holy family school here, why is it using the space allocated for this purpose to drive a commercial OOH media business through this hoarding. 

Secondly this hoarding is also lit during night time. It aint rocket science to understand that the power being used for this commercial hoarding is coming at a subsidized cost meant for education institutions categorized under public services as per MERC tariff order and the church is pocketing the difference in the rates for this lit hoarding. Below are the exact numbers and difference. 

As per the differences in the highlighted tariff rates the church is benefiting at the rate of approximately Rs 150 per kVA per month + Rs 9.94 kWH per month FAC + Rs 200 per kVA per month + Rs 0.55 per kWH energy charges + Rs 0.08 per kWH regulatory asset charges in form of difference in variable charges. 

Outrage anyone.