Private plot owners claim they bear brunt of anti-encroachment drive

Mumbai: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will be building a three-metre high retaining wall at 10 metres’ distance from the water mains across three wards of the city. A visit to the project-affected area in Kurla revealed that few structures slated to be demolished are private plots that have been there for the past 30 years. The Christian Village in Kurla, which is located beside the Tansa Pipeline, has around 50 structures that will be demolished by the BMC following the Bombay high court order of 2009 to demolish structures within 10 metres’ radius of the Tansa pipeline.

The Christian Village covers around 500 meters of the pipeline and a public notice in the area was issued about demolition of the structures. “We have been here since 1980 and all the structures here are legal. Yet I have been issued notices of demolition in 2011 and 2016. Along with proper homes, there are some chawls in and outside the village area. It will lead to displacement of many people,” said Jerome D’souza, a resident of Christian Village.

The villagers have also decided to file a writ petition against the acquiring process of the private plots that come under the 10-metre radius. “Ahead of the chawl and village area, there are several hutments that have encroached near the pipeline. We are getting affected due to the blanket action taken against them,” said Vivian D’Souza, who will be filing the writ petition.

Locals from Vijay Nagar in Marol, where the walling process is going on, said the hutments beyond 10 metres are facing problems as the wall is touching their huts. “The wall has blocked the exit points and we have to either climb over the wall or have to enter others’ huts while walking to the edge of the wall,” said Ashwin Pawar, resident of Vijay Nagar, Marol.

The Asian Age tried to contact BMC officials for comment, but they weren’t available.