BMC seeks water disconnection at Mumbai airport mosque after ‘land jihad’ claims

Mumbai: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has issued a notice to Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) directing it to either produce approval for the water connection to a mosque adjoining Terminal 2 or disconnect the supply within seven days, following allegations of “land jihad” and illegal construction by BJP leader Kirit Somaiya.

In a letter dated September 17 to the airport’s executive engineer, the BMC’s K-South ward water works department said a 15 mm diameter pipeline was supplying water to the masjid, but the connection was “not in the records of this office”. The civic body asked MIAL to submit documentary approval from the competent BMC authority for the connection or sever the line, warning that failure to comply would invite action under the Mumbai Municipal Corporation (MMC) Act.

Somaiya, a former BJP MP, has alleged that around 5,000 sq ft of Airports Authority of India (AAI) land, along with a roughly 3,000 sq ft structure described as a mosque, was fraudulently handed over by GVK/MIAL officials to an employee. Citing a GVK/MIAL letter from August 21, 2015, he has sought a probe and the registration of an FIR against those involved, accusing them of “land grabbing” and illegal construction.

On X, Somaiya said he would file a complaint with the Sahar police station against what he termed “land jihad mafias” and a MIAL employee, Mohammad Sarwar of the cargo division, over the alleged transfer and construction. The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has since directed the Sahar police to investigate the unauthorised religious structure on AAI land and submit its findings.

The MMRDA, in response to queries, stated that no permission had been granted for any religious structure at the site under the airport development plan and that the civic body had not approved such construction. The BMC’s notice, however, is confined to the alleged unauthorised water connection and does not adjudicate on land ownership or the legality of the mosque itself.