Morbi: The Bochasanvasi Akshar Purushottam Sanstha (BAPS) Swaminarayan Mandir in Morbi has been served a notice by the Morbi Municipality for the construction of an illegal wall in the riverbed of the Machchu River. The notice states that the construction for religious purposes has been done without the approval of the municipality, thereby breaching rules. Consequently, it has to be removed voluntarily within 30 days, or actions will be taken.

BAPS has been building the Mandir near the Machhu River for a long time. President of the Morbi Bar Association, Dilip Agechaniya, along with other alert citizens, had made a representation regarding the illegal construction in the riverbed before the district collector, resulting in a probe by a committee comprising officials from DILR, the Prant Officer, the Municipality, and the Road and Building Department.

Regarding the matter, Swaminarayan Temple management said in a press conference, “The administration has served a notice, but we had made an application for approval for the work on April 15. Due to some issues with the software, the application has not been processed. However, we had asked for permission. Generally, no permission is required for a wall, but for a wall on the riverbed, we have to take permission from the irrigation department. Since we did not build a new wall but just raised the height of the old wall, there was no need for permission. The collector has formed a committee, and whatever the administration decides, our organization will accept it.” DeshGujarat