Plea in Bombay HC over renaming of Pathanwadi metro station as Dindoshi
India Today
A plea was filed in the Bombay High Court over the renaming of the Pathanwadi metro station as Dindoshi on the Mumbai metro.
The Naee Roshni social organisation filed a petition in the Bombay High Court over the renaming of Pathanwadi metro station to Dindoshi by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA). It alleged that the MMRDA changed the name of the metro station after political pressure from BJP MLA Atul Bhatkhalkar and Shiv Sena MLA Sunil Prabhu.
The MMRDA passed the order for the renaming of stations on July 18, 2019.
The petition said the MMRDA violated its own policy in renaming the metro stations. According to MMRDA’s policy, when there are more than two stations in a revenue village, the nearest wadi's name shall be considered for one of the stations. Wadi is the name given to an area with a cluster of houses.
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According to the petitioners, they had also filed an RTI and obtained documents where the MMRDA admitted that Dindoshi is the name of a nearby revenue village and not of the nearest wadi.
The plea claimed that the renaming of the station is arbitrary and affects the sentiments of the residents of Pathanwadi and is therefore in breach of Article 14 (equality before the law) of the constitution of India.
“The residents of Pathanwadi have a constitutional right to safeguard and protect their geographical existence, culture and history. The arbitrary manner in which the metro rail station was renamed is in complete violation of the fundamental rights of the residents," the plea further stated.
