Encroachment-free Mumbai: Myth or reality?

Maharashtra CM recently advised the demolition of illegal encroachments in the city. DNA asks people if these plans will work.

Civic officials allege nexus between culprits politicians

Though chief minister Ashok Chavan has asked the civic administration to demolish all illegal constructions in the city, it is not an easy task for civic officials as there is a nexus between encroachers and politicians.

A senior civic official said it is not possible to remove all the encroachments from the city even in next 25 years.

“There are many encroachments on the government land, and the civic body can’t remove them as they have the support of big politicians. Till the nexus exists, we can not work on the problem and make the city look beautiful,” he added.

“In Mumbai, there are about 60,000 slums around the pipelines, and as the BMC started a drive against them, a section of politicians started pressurising us. We can not work under such conditions,” the officer said.

In fact, a large number of illegal constructions in the city belong to politicians, while others have the support of various political parties.

Beharampada at Bandra and Qureshi Nagar at Kurla are totally illegal, but the government is asking the civic body to prepare a redevelopment plan for them.

“When the state government itself has started the policy of giving houses to slum dwellers who had illegal slums prior to 1995, then how can the encroachments go?” the officer asked.

“On the one hand, the government is protecting the illegal structures through its policies, and on the other hand, it is asking the civic body to remove them, which is quite impossible,” the civic official said.

Develop the hinterland

There are state laws and municipal laws regarding encroachment. No one can legally occupy any land without the permission of the authorities. But still a number of people have been living in the city without proper permission and have constructed houses. This is because neither the government has checked the illegal growth nor has it taken any action when people started coming in the city 40-50 years back. Moreover, large-scale industries and corporations should also have been required to provide living arrangement for their employees. The people who came to work here as labourers for economic reasons, hardly went back after the work was over. They were working at construction sites and started staying there. As there are no laws implemented on occupying space, it culminated in dense population and encroachment. Another reason as to why labourers continue flocking to the city is because the hinterland still remains undeveloped. People who come to the city are not only from other states but from Maharashtra as well.

Nayana Kathpalia, co-convenor, CitySpace 

No concrete steps are taken

I don't think that any efforts will be taken to make the city free of encroachments even after the chief minister's recent statement. They have been talking about the issue for a long time but hardly do anything concrete to make it work. Whenever the authorities have come up with an anti-encroachment drive, the onus only falls on the poor people. What about the high-profile people who are making illegal constructions? Even a majority of political parties’ offices are illegal but government doesn't even consider such constructions  illegal. They should first practise what they preach. The government also doesn't have standardised rules for stopping the  influx to the city. People are allowed to come and work but apart from that there is no provision as to how and where they should stay. This is the reason people choose to stay wherever they find place. Lack of initial action allows them to stay and after some years, they want to make it permanent.

Aftab Siddique, chairperson, Linking Road Citizens' Forum

We need sustained efforts by authorities

The government should be serious and get completely involved in getting this done and not leave it halfway. If we have a proper makeover plan and work towards it, it's possible to get rid of the encroachments. There are many crusaders in the city fighting for open spaces; citizens need to support them and ensure that we make our city free of encroachments. It requires sustained efforts from the authorities. We need to have a long-term plan and work towards beautifying the city.

Sahil Mehta, businessman

We can free the city of encroachments

It’s a positive step and it was much needed. We need the authorities to buck up and take the necessary action. However, Mumbai is the financial capital of India and with many job opportunities we see huge numbers of people flocking to the city. So, there needs to be some solution for this. It is only possible to make Mumbai encroachment-free when other cities are equipped to absorb the population flow. I am positive, and believe that we should work towards making the city encroachment-free.

Diksha Raghani, freelancer

Builders must act more responsibly

I don't think it's possible to free Mumbai of encroachments. This is a massive job and has to be tackled professionally. With the rising population and increasing migrants in the city, the government should think about this and do something about building legal and affordable housing. There is need for transparency in the whole housing and development system. The builders need to act responsibly rather than just looking after their own gains. It's a known fact that there are hardly any open spaces left in the city.

Sandip Maule, PR executive

Corruption is one of the main reasons

In Mumbai, there are hardly any footpaths left. Either they are occupied by some vehicles or by hawkers. I don't think Ashok Chavan’s claims to make the city encroachment-free is possible. The main reason, I think, is because of the existing corruption in the whole system. The builders, the BMC and the politicians are not serious about pursuing such issues. Also, with the kind of population we have, it seems impossible to free the city of encroachments. The government should be serious about it.

Mamta Shirodkar, student