Pushing the CM's call of removing encroachment in the city, the BMC is now seeking a dedicated police force to remove illegal shanties.
BMC, MMRDA ask for anti-shanty squads.
Pushing Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh's call of removing encroachment in the city, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is now seeking a dedicated police force to remove illegal shanties. The civic administration has prepared a proposal of civic squads comprising 22 cops in each of the 24 wards and is expected to send it to the state government on Monday.
As of now, civic officials get help from the cops depending on the case in question. This system is found to be inadequate as civic crimes are low on priority on the already stressed police. "We want a dedicated force of 20 constables and two sub-inspectors in each ward to deal with illegal hutments. In big cities across the world, cops are under the local civic administration. These men will be under our jurisdiction to tackle encroachments playing havoc with urban infrastructure," Municipal Commissioner Johny Joseph said.
The new recruitment will also require changes in the BMC Act to empower them in their actions. They would also undergo training to monitor slum-prone areas and will be helped by satellite camera images.
Areas like Mandala, Kurla, Malavani, Govandi, Kandivali has seen a spurt of slums in the last three years.
Supporting the move, T Chandrashekhar, metropolitan commissioner, said the city needed tough anti-encroachment squads. "I feel they should be autonomous and dedicated to this activity. This will bring in the much-needed accountability."
Rooting for a mass campaign to halt encroachments, Chandrashekhar said, "Only those with legitimate housing in the city should be allowed to work here. Labourers called from outside Mumbai often stay back in the camps. Contractors' bills should not be settled until the labourers return," he said.
With the cost of big infrastructure projects jumping by 30 per cent thanks to a revision in the slum rehabilitation date from 1995 to 2000, the civic bodies are looking at salt pan lands and No-Development Zones to build tenements. The MMRDA alone needs two lakh houses to clear slums on roads, airport and rail lines, while the BMC is clearing Senapati Bapat Marg and PD Mello Road in phases as many shanties here are disputed.
Joseph said a new task force should have "officials from the BMC, MMRDA, traffic, police and the collector. Coordination between agencies is crucial".
State administration sources said this time around the CM is ensuring an all-party consensus on slums, unlike his effort two years ago. "By extending the rehabilitation deadline to 2000, 90 per cent people in slums will be rehoused. This will clearly help the administration in the next civic elections," said a source.
However, south Mumbai MP Milind Deora pointed out that the fight against encroachments should not be restricted to slums. "It should be against all illegal structures—big or small. The rich should not be spared. I believe the DF government has the will to deliver."
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