Mumbai, July 29 -- The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has withdrawn its decision to convert part of a defunct cycling track opposite Shanmukhananda Hall in Sion into a pay-and-park facility, due to the presence of the Tansa water pipeline underneath the track. The civic body's hydraulic engineering department, which owns the land, had issued a no-objection certificate (NOC) for the pay-and-park proposal in June. However, the department's Survey Section has now raised objections to the project as it violates a Bombay High Court order regarding encroachments on the land above the underground pipeline, which supplies drinking water to Mumbai, officials said. As per the court's order, a 10-metre buffer on either side of the ground above the water pipeline must be kept free from any encroachment, including parked vehicles, said an official from the BMC's hydraulic engineering department. "The pipeline underneath cannot withstand additional pressure. We've already cleared prior encroachments to avoid any potential hazards. Our recommendations to the maintenance department are based on these facts," the official added. The cycling track, built in 2020, runs from Sion to Mulund and is 39 kilometres long. However, residents of Sion claimed earlier this year that the track was not being maintained, and unauthorised encroachments had come up on it over the last five years. They proposed converting the space into a regulated parking area, especially given its proximity to Shanmukhananda Hall and Gandhi Market-venues that draw over 2,000 visitors daily and cause frequent traffic congestion. In June, the BMC's hydraulic engineering department cleared the pay-and-park proposal, while emphasising that no permanent structures will be permitted on the plot. However, it has now objected to the proposal, as it violates a Bombay High Court directive concerning a petition from 2006, according to a letter dated July 26 from the department's Survey Section, which was accessed by HT. "In accordance with the Survey Section's remarks, it is advisable not to allow the pay-and-park scheme at the proposed site, following the High Court's instructions," the letter stated. Payal Shah, a member of the United Societies of Sion, which had campaigned for the parking space, criticised the decision. "How does regulated parking qualify as encroachment? Ironically, illegal hutments and debris are ignored, while legal uses like parking are blocked, citing High Court orders," she said. Adding to residents' frustration, a Rs.9-crore tender for maintaining the cycling track has also been scrapped due to a lack of funds. Efforts to involve private companies to maintain the track as part of their corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives also received no response, residents said. Shah criticised the poor state of the track, claiming it hasn't been cleaned, swept, or watered for nearly 10 months and had been turned into a dumping ground. "It's been completely abandoned by the hydraulic engineering department," she said. "The entire track is broken into 50-metre stretches, with steps, boulders, uneven surfaces, and no continuity, making it unfit for cycling. Since its creation, it has become a hotspot for illegal activities such as alcohol consumption, gambling, and unruly behaviour," Shah added....