Desperate to stonewall the canny slum-dweller, who invariably returns after the BMC's heavy-duty equipment flattens their homes, the civic authorities are actively enlisting the public's support and delving into the city's Development Plan to protect vacant plots flush with encroachments. In fact, a little cosmetic surgery on the city's streets can be amazingly effective, they figure, with potted plants turning out to be a feisty little opponent for the stubborn slum-dweller.

The BMC's frustration stems mainly fromstatistics like this: Till last year, the number of shanties demolished per day was 50; then it rose to 80. In December 1998, 120 huts were razed and in January 1999, 340. By February, the number zoomed to 500. If the figures suggest that demolitions have increased, what they conceal is the number of shanties that have simply been rebuilt on the original sites.

Lack of civic staff for post-demolition vigilance is one of the main reasons for the failure of such drives.

Additional Municipal Commissioner V R Ramani says a BMC survey reveals that there are over 33,000 hutments in the city's 23 wards which have sprung up after January 1, 1995, and need to be demolished. Of this, most of them are on forest land.

Ward officer in charge of encroachments, S S Shinde, admits that demolitions are a wasted effort. ``There are certain spots where we regularly carry out demolitions before the monsoon. But the moment the drive is over, the same huts are back.'' For instance, after removing encroachments at RafiqueNagar in Govandi as many as 11 times, it has made absolutely no difference, he points out. Hence, unless vacant plots are protected after the demolitions, things are back to square one. Which is why, he explains, the BMC should take up the development of reserved plots. But, given the corporation's burgeoning deficit, a better option is to hand over plots belonging to other agencies, like MHADA and the Forest Department, to the respective authorities so that each one protects its respectove land after it is cleared of encroachments. For instance, the BMC recently handed over a road to the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) after demolishing over 200 shanties.

But the real problem lies with private plots as the owners, in most cases, are not willing to take the responsibility of keeping them encroachment-free. Private owners usually take the BMC for granted, expecting the civic authorities to keep razing the shanties when they return, Shinde says.

Also blaming the state government forthe vicious cycle, he says: ``The deadline for tolerated slums is increased every time, which fuels the hope in slum-dwellers that their shanties will be regularised at some point.''

Deputy Municipal Commissioner in charge of demolitions, Chandrasekhar Rokde, said people's organisations are being roped in to maintain gardens, playgrounds and even pavements wherever possible. In fact, the process of handing over plots for maintenance has been simplified. ``It takes less than a week to hand over smaller gardens and playgrounds to these organisations,'' he says. Moreover, he adds, the authorities concerned have been instructed to complete all the necessary formalities, even for bigger plots, in less than a month.

``We shall appeal to shopkeepers and housing socieites to help with beautification of pavements in their respective areas,'' Rokde says, citing a project at Pali Hill, Bandra, which has been a huge success. The colony's residents have even appointed private security guards to protect the pavement,he beams.

Meanwhile, the BMC has for the first time drawn up a list of chronic spots, where repeated demolitions will be carried out.