Shanties resurface on mangrove land

Taking advantage of the laxity of civic officials and the police during elections, virgin mangrove lands near Kandarpada, Dahisar, are being reclaimed to build illegal shanties and industrial units.

The reclaimed land is part of the mangroves that extend up to the Gorai creek and is among the last patches of green in the western suburbs. The rampant destruction of mangroves continues even after these stretches were notified as forests.

The industrial units that have come up include paver-block units set up by contractors who also supply material to the BMC. These shanties were earlier evicted by the BMC. New shanties are also surfacing in the Ganpat Patil Nagar slum, Mumbai’s second biggest slum colony after Dharavi.

While the model code of conduct does not bar civic officials from demolishing illegal structures during elections, they avoid taking action owing to lack of manpower and resistance from political lobbies. Assistant municipal commissioner Parag Masurkar said lack of police support makes it difficult for the BMC to take action. Local municipal officials said there was resistance from some politicians to any action against the Ganpat Patil Nagar slums.

Residents, however, are baffled. “I do not see the logic,” said Harish Pandey of the New Link Road Residents’ Association. “Why should the BMC and police wait for the code of conduct to be lifted? By the time elections are over, the illegal constructions would have reclaimed a lot of land.”