BMC to bulldoze 1,000 hutments

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is getting ready to raze 1,000 illegal hutments in Ganpat Patil Nagar on the New Link Road in Dahisar (West) and the first to fall would be those within 50 meters of mangroves in Borivali.

The civic body will mobilise machinery from the R-South, R-Central and R-North ward, along with 80 policemen of the BMCs WRD department supported by a force of 2,200 local policemen.

Mumbai North MP Sanjay Nirupam is opposing the move.

"We had a meeting today with representatives from the area led by MP Sanjay Nirupam and informed them that starting January 10, we will be demolishing the hutments located 50 meter from the mangroves as per an HC order," said deputy municipal commissioner Bharat Marathe.

Assistant municipal commissioner Santoshkumar Dhonde added, "These account for 700 to 1,000 hutments of a total of roughly 6,000 in Ganpat Patil Nagar. On priority, we are following the state government guidelines, the other hutments we will have to verify their documents before we plan on their demolition."

On Tuesday, Nirupam asked the civic body to reconsider the decision.

"The BMC and the Shiv Sena have created panic by spreading rumours that all hutments will be demolished. I spoke to the Corporation and they have now decided to remove only those encroachments that violate the HC order but even in this, there has been no proper survey. The residents are losing homes, many of them existing prior to 1995 and 2000. The BMC must take cognizance of this," said Nirupam.

The Congress MP alleged that the Shiv Sena has vested interest in the area.

Shiv Sena corporator and ward committee chairman of R-North ward, Abhishek Ghosalkar defended the decision saying the 8,000-odd hutments were illegal as the land is in CRZ.

... contd.

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