BMC’s attempt to rebuild a civic school in Mankhurd has been delayed after the defence establishment rejected the multi-storey design. The school, demolished in 2021, had around 450 students, who now travel to Maharashtra Nagar. BMC said a revised plan will be submitted soon to comply with defence guidelines.

Mumbai: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will submit a revised building plan for a civic school in Mankhurd after the defence establishment rejected its proposal to construct a multi-storey structure near a defence installation. The decision has led to further delays in rebuilding the school, which was demolished five years ago after being declared unsafe.

What Led To Rejection Of Proposal By Defence?

This is the second such case in Mumbai after Colaba, where the construction of a BMC school was stalled due to defence objections to high-rise structures in sensitive areas. In Mankhurd, the proposed school site is located directly opposite a defence facility, leading to the rejection of the original plan.

The school in old Mankhurd village was demolished in 2021 during the Covid-19 pandemic. At the time, it had around 450 students enrolled from Classes 1 to 7, with Hindi, Marathi and Urdu medium sections. Since its demolition, ward 135 has been left without a single BMC-run school.

According to a report, Santosh Surve, chairperson of Janjagruti Vidyarthi Manch, which works on education-related issues in the area, questioned the demolition. He said the building had been repaired in 2018 but was suddenly declared dilapidated and razed during the pandemic, forcing students to shift to distant schools.

Currently, students from the demolished school attend classes in Maharashtra Nagar. Parents have raised safety concerns, as children are required to cross railway tracks and a busy main road daily to reach school. Surve, an alumnus of the school, added that parents do not want a multi-storey structure and feel that a simple, low-rise school building would be sufficient.

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BMC Official Confirms Redesigning Plan Underway

Prachi Jambhekar, Deputy Commissioner of Education at the BMC, said the proposal was rejected due to new defence norms. “We had submitted our proposal, but it was not approved. We are now redesigning the plan and will submit it again to obtain the necessary permissions,” she said as quoted by .

Defence officials clarified that permission could not be granted under existing guidelines. According to the report citing their statement, the Indian Navy is not authorised to issue a no-objection certificate for multi-storey school construction near INS Shikra, citing defence ministry guidelines issued between 2011 and 2015.