MUMBAI, Sept. 11 -- For a locality with a population of over 376,000, Versova could soon lose a planned fire station if a BMC proposal to delete the reservation and convert the land for residential use goes through. Versova residents currently rely on the Irla and Goregaon fire stations, which are far away. Traffic congestion could further hamper the speed of fire services reaching the area. Despite this, the BMC has seen fit to propose opening up the land reserved for the fire station and a municipal police chowky for residential use. The land, around 3,439 sq m in a Versova Mhada layout, has 2,296 sq m reserved for the chowky and 1,143.16 sq m for the fire station. Another 740.4 sq m of over 2,550 sq m of the adjoining police chowky reservation on Location B is proposed to be merged with this. The proposal has been placed before the BMC Improvement Committee for initiating the process. The proposal follows a request made by the chief officer of Mhada's Mumbai Board on July 16, 2025, seeking corrections to existing reservations shown in the BMC's DP 2034 on the Mhada plot. An official from the Development Plan department said that an earlier location for the police chowky approved in 2010 was not properly reflected in the DP, resulting in the old location continuing to be shown, and the BMC had therefore proposed retaining the police chowky at Location B in accordance with the earlier approved layout. Ashraf Azmi, Congress group leader in the BMC has questioned whether a discrepancy in the location of the municipal chowky can be used to justify the deletion of a separate fire station reservation. He has sought an explanation of why the fire station was included in DP 2034 and what changed subsequently for the BMC and fire brigade to conclude that it was no longer required. Questioning the decision to remove a fire station reservation from an area with several high-rise residential developments, Azmi has also demanded an independent assessment of fire risk and emergency response requirements in Versova, Seven Bungalows, Lokhandwala, Oshiwara and surrounding areas. He has also sought a hearing with citizens. Congress corporator Meher Mohsin Haider also reiterated that the proposal could not be treated as merely a correction to DP 2034. "The Corporation's own records show that the municipal police chowky reservation had already been shifted under the sanctioned DP 1991 and the approved 2011 layout, yet the old reservation reappeared in DP-2034. How did this happen, and who prepared, checked and certified the plan?" Haider said. "The Corporation must establish what additional development potential this creates and who stands to benefit." The BMC has faced sharp criticism over its plan to drop a reserved fire station plot in Andheri's Mhada layout. Although the chief fire officer cleared the proposal in November 2025 citing existing nearby stations, activists and residents strongly oppose the move. Activist Karan Haider questioned whether a temporary "not required" clearance justifies permanently scrapping the reservation. Echoing these concerns, Dhaval Shah from the Andheri Lokhandwala Oshiwara Citizens' Association warned that ongoing redevelopment, the Versova-Madh bridge, and the Versova-Dahisar Link Road will cause the local population to skyrocket. Shah stressed that alternative sites like Chitrakoot Ground remain inadequate, and severe traffic congestion from distant facilities like Irla could fatally delay emergency response times. The proposal was referred back by the Improvements Committee on Wednesday but will be re-tabled this month. If passed, the final modification will require state government approval under Section 37(2) of the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act....